Lean & fit for life...with AbFitt & Richard Seymour's Fight School.

The world of boxing has been heralded for producing some of the fittest athletes in sports. The quality of a boxer's workout has received much attention nationwide and has taken a prominent place in the world of fitness as an effective and complete total body workout.

At AbFitt, I strive to provide you professional and knowledgeable boxing, fitness & nutritional information

Boxing for fitness is a fun, easy to learn workout that will get you mentally and physically into the best shape of your life. The benefits are upper and lower body strength, coordination, various punching and self defense techniques, cardiovascular endurance and stamina.

When compared to other exercise programs you will find that learning to box for fitness will give you superior results. Burning fat and calories comes naturally and looking fit and trim is the reward.

Combine this with weight training & great nutrition and your on your way to getting in the best shape of your life.

Richard

Ginseng for Weight Loss

Ginseng may be considered one of the most well known Chinese herbs in the alternative medicine market. It has been used in China for many centuries because of the benefits that it brings to man. This root is commonly found in products that revive energy. It can increase stamina and vigor especially in men. Some varieties of ginseng are used to treat the common cold while others are used as a beauty enhancer. Aside from these advantages, ginseng may also be used to supplement a weight loss diet. Ginseng has the ability to act as a thermogenic. It increases bodily heat therefore increasing metabolism and the conversion of fat into muscle.



Recent research has found that the some varieties and components of this herb aid in treating obesity and diabetes. In December 2008, the Phytotheraphy Research Journal published the results of their study on ginseng for weight loss. The study confirmed that ginsenoside Rg3, a constituent of red ginseng, does not let the cells fully absorb and store fat. Wild ginseng also appeared to hinder obesity when extracts of the said variety were administered to obese mice during the study.

Dang shen is another variety of ginseng that is observed to have the same anti-obesity effect. The said variety can be found in most commercially sold weight loss supplements. Dang shen increases metabolism and improves digestion. It aids in the conversion of fat into muscle. It is also an energizer and is commonly given to those experiencing fatigue. Other than that, dang shen ginseng also has the ability to increase blood count and hemoglobin and is good for those with anemia. It is also used to help diabetics because of its ability to help the body replenish fluids. Ginseng lowers glucose levels in the blood that lessen the production of insulin. Insulin is the hormone that signals the body to store fat.

Ginseng is commercially sold in capsules or as tea. Only the scientifically tested varieties of ginseng are sold in herbal stores. It is usually recommended to take 200 milligrams a day. Ginseng cannot replace a weight loss diet and exercise regimen. Therefore, to get the most out of the weight loss benefits of ginseng, it should be taken while continuing the prescribed weight loss diet and exercise routine.

It should be noted that ginseng might produce side affects, although this is not the same in all people. Side effects include insomnia, skin rashes, diarrhea, and menstrual cycle irregularities in women. If there are no side effects encountered, dosage may be increased to 300 milligrams a day. As the body adjusts its system to the ginseng intake, vigorous exercise may be performed since ginseng has the ability to lessen feelings of fatigue.

Taking ginseng as tea may not be as effective. The undesirable taste makes consumers add sweeteners that eventually defeat the purpose of weight loss. If this is the case, artificial sweeteners may be used. Taking in ginseng while on other medications may also counter its weight loss effect.

The Problem With Personal Blogging

I am not prone to cursing but this weekend this blog had me all up in 4-letter arms. I sometimes forget that even though I'm surrounded by my warm, cozy, supportive group of about 30 or so regular commenters that tens of thousands of other people read this site. Some of them very strange people indeed. You know what? I don't mind the strange ones. I certainly don't mind people telling me I'm wrong. I love a debate. But someone telling me I should be murdered? I mind.

And it's not just for myself that I am concerned but for anyone that reads the comments on here in a fragile state of mind.

I'm getting ahead of myself. Most of you probably noticed nothing this weekend other than that the lead post had a tasty pic of Tom Sellick's chest hair in edible form - what's not to love? The only way you might have noticed something amiss was if you happened to subscribe to the comments on one of my posts about my sexual assault. The problem came because I put my post on Lady Gaga and the Glamorous Rape up on Huffington Post (where I also blog). That post turned out to be way more popular than I had anticipated and several other sites picked it up. Readers from those sites found their way here and... this weekend happened.

These posts have long been a source of controversy on this site. It's been raised - politely - in the comments before that my sexual assault has nothing to do with health or fitness and so people question why I write about something so deeply personal. I write about it for the same reason I write about my eating disorder and my anxiety and my daughter who died - because it is a part of me. My sexual assault was a major factor in getting me into physical fitness, especially in regards to kickboxing and karate. But it has also infiltrated my soul even more deeply, affecting issues like my body image and my self esteem and my willingness to trust people to have physical power over me, all of which actually do tie in to health and fitness. For me, letting you guys in on the messy parts of my brain is critical to explaining what I do and why I react the way I do. Besides, opening myself up to other people has really shown me how much of this life is about shared experiences and I have learned so much - and healed so much - because of your help.

I knew when I first wrote about sexual assault that it would make some people squeamish. Some people are so uncomfortable with this topic that they have requested me to e-mail them a warning before I post one (which I do). And then others think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill and think I should just be grateful that nothing worse happened to me (which I am). Some even took it to mean I was impugning men as a gender (which I am not). And yet the reason I continue to talk about rape and sexual assault is because I believe that the only way to overcome these types of dark crimes is to open them up to the light. It's my choice to do this. It's my blog.

Blogging at the Huffington Post has mostly inured me to the kinds of hateful personal attacks people say on the Internet and yet some people still found a way to get under my skin. Not that I'm particularly fond of letting them know that. I questioned whether or not to address this at all - didn't want to give them any more power - except that I worried about other people, other survivors (from whom I get many, many e-mails), reading those same comments and feeling attacked themselves or triggered or hurt. This kind of shaming is exactly what perpetuates the culture of silence that surrounds and facilitates sex crimes.

To those of my readers who have been hurt in this way, you have all my empathy. This is not normally a problem on this blog. In fact, this is the first time in almost two years of blogging that I have had to delete comments for reasons other than blatant advertising (like those stupid diet pills ads that occasionally show up). I'm convinced that my readers here are generally the greatest people on the planet and I've had such good experiences with many of you via this site & e-mail. I'm grateful to all of you who support me and love me, even when you don't agree with me.

But I want you to know that I will not shut up about this. I'm not perfect; I am so very fallible. On this subject I've been angry and ambivalent, depressed and regretful. But I learned a long time ago that being quiet when someone threatens to kill you doesn't work. This time I'm screaming.

Mahir Oral confident of dethroning “King” Arthur Abraham

This is the chance I have been waiting for”, states Mahir Oral who will take on IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham on June 27th at Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin, Germany (live on Showtime). “When I heard that Arthur had chosen me as voluntary challenger I didn’t have to think twice. I agreed immediately. I have the chance to face the strongest middleweight fighter in the world today. They say to be the man you have to beat the man. This is what I will go to Berlin for. I want to pull the biggest upset of the year and show the world what I got..”

Purchase Gifts for the beginning Yoga

The benefits of yoga are plentiful. Yoga is known for increasing strength and flexibility while helping to decrease stress and athletic injuries. If there is someone on your list who is interested in getting started practicing yoga, there are some great gifts you can purchase that will help them get going. See the guide below for how to purchase gifts for the beginning yoga.



Step 1:
Get the gear. The good news is, yoga doesn’t require a lot of equipment. A beginning yogi needs a mat and some mat cleaner. Go to shareyoga.com and find several choices of mats for $49.00. A few options include the Flower Power mat and the Peace Prayer mat, but if those don’t suit your yogi’s personality, there are other choices. The Wicked Witch Hazel Cleaner for $16.00 will help your recipient keep their mat clean and sanitized.

Step 2:
It’s in the bag. You’ll need to get the yoga learner on your list a bag to keep their mat in. Yoga.com sells a simple embroidered yoga mat bag for $20.99. The bag is small, portable, well made and comes in various colors such as coffee brown, wine, and pink. The embroidery options include the words Peace, Harmony, or I love yoga, among other options.

Step 3:
Clothes to fit the part. If you’re feeling generous (and you know your gift recipient’s size) you can try to purchase some yoga clothes, but be warned, they can be pricey. Yoga-clothing.com has a large selection of yoga pants, capris, shorts, leggings, and tanks. (A beginning yogi can usually suffice with some comfy sweat material pants for the time being.)

Step 4:
Yogis need models. Someone new to yoga needs to see the poses being modeled for them by a real person. At amazon.com you can purchase the DVD titled AM PM Yoga for Beginners for $14.99. The AM routines are designed to awaken the mind and body; whereas the PM routines are meant to help you release stress and get to sleep relaxed.

Step 5:
Resources are resourceful. Yoga beginners can benefit from a book as a guide. At yogalifestyle.com you can purchase the book 28 Day Yoga Exercise Plan by Richard Hittleman for only $14.00. The 28 day guide boasts that beginners can spend a half hour a day learning the practice, but claims that it’s also good for those returning to the practice. The book design was well thought out, as it even lays flat for use while practicing.

Step 6:
Music is a must. At shantiommusic.com you can purchase the Yoga Motions White Swan Yoga Masters Vol. 4 CD for $16.98. This CD features selections by various artists; the website says the selections were chosen by Lauren Peterson, who is a nationally recognized yoga practitioner whose client base includes many entertainers and athletes.

Step 7:
Set the mood with incense. Some people who practice yoga like to burn incense while they are practicing. A nice gift for a beginning yogi can be found at mandalacollection.com. The Puja Buddha Tibetan Incense Travel Altar Box Set is $36.00 and was made in Nepal. It includes a 3” herbal Buddha statue, totala seeds, sandalwood resin incense, a hand-glazed terracotta leaf burner and a story card.

If your gift recipient wishes to wrap their mind and body around the practice of yoga, you won’t go wrong by purchasing the gifts above for him or her. The beginning yogi will surely catch the yoga bug, and in no time you’ll find yourself shopping for gifts for the advanced yogi.

Motus USA VP & CFO Interviewed by Fitness Business Pro on Cardio Equipment Sales & Social Networking

Jun 1, 2009 12:00 PM Cardio Sales Hold Steady for Some Companies Stuart Goldman Overland Park, Ks — In today's market, cardio sales can be tough for manufacturers, but some of the cardio equipment companies that are enjoying a measure of success right now are younger companies using newer marketing approaches to focus their sales efforts on a specific product rather than multiple categories of products. Motus USA is using social networking mediums, such as Facebook and Twitter, to reach out to current and potential customers, says Tania Cobb, vice president and CFO at the Carson, CA-based company. “Word of mouth has become so important in these alternative mediums because we are able to bring all of our clients — existing and potential — into these mediums and enable our existing clients to communicate with these individuals,” Cobb says. Motus USA, which entered the U.S. market in 2005, also has been actively hiring salespeople. “It's very important to have a strong sales force and not to be cutting back on your sales force right now,” Cobb says. “This year and into 2010 is going to be a very aggressive marketing and sales time in our company's history.” Motus USA has not had the sales growth it expected at the beginning of the year, Cobb says, but she adds that the second quarter of 2009 is on par with the second quarter of 2008. “We expect the third quarter this year to be even stronger,” she says. Join Motus USA on the social network! Get started today! Click below... View the full article as it appears in the June Issue of Fitness Business Pro here

Ruining Perfectly Good Food

Nothing says yummy like Tom Selleck's chest hair!

Coffee cake is one of life's nicest niceties. Not only does it have crunchy brown sugar streusel layered with moist cake and topped with icing but it also evokes images of tea parties and twee hats and gloves and dresses with nipped-in waists and Peter-Pan collars. Fun. So when Gym Buddy Lisseth waxed rhapsodic about the best coffee cake ever, which she had made the night before and eaten for breakfast this morning, you will understand why my mouth began to water.

The Gym Buddies and I have an interesting post-workout tradition. After we get good and sweaty together and bounce some iron around (and grunt and scratch ourselves), we sit on the stretching mats... and talk about food. No matter how hard we try, every post-workout conversation eventually comes back to food. What new restaurant Krista tried, the new recipe Megan found, the number of chicken wings Allison can eat in one sitting (her record thus far - with husband - 120. Girlfriend is having a serious pregnancy craving!) - it's all fair game. By the end, each of us is drooling, starving and usually armed with a resolution to cook something when we get home.

This day it was coffee cake, courtesy of Lisseth. While I didn't have her recipe, I do have a perfectly wonderful Betty Crocker cookbook that has served me well many a time and so I hauled that out. Turning the oven on to preheat, I checked to make sure I had all the ingredients. For something so tasty, coffee cake is amazingly simple. And also amazingly bad for you! How have I never known what is in coffee cake?! My heart pounded a little faster as I looked at the white flour, oil, butter, salt and all that sugar. I knew I couldn't make it. What would be the point of that grueling workout I just finished if I were to eat half a coffee cake afterward?

Sighing, I started to put the book away. But then a thought came to my mind - I could healthify it! Happily, I got out my mixer and bowl and set about substituting every ingredient. I used whole wheat flour for the white flour, replaced the fat with a banana, the sugar with applesauce and so forth. Excitedly I poured the batter into a casserole dish (like I own a bundt pan - please, you're talking to the girl who only owns one grown-up sharp knife). The kitchen filled with yummy smells and 60 minutes later I had... banana bread. And not even good banana bread! Healthified banana bread. That was most definitely not what I was craving. In fact it was so nasty that it sat on our kitchen counter for a week until my husband finally threw it away.

This is not the first time this has happened. In fact, you could say I have a reputation for ruining perfectly good food. The ingredients all start out fine but in the process of trying to healthify the recipe, I usually ruin it. It's gotten to the point where my cooking has become a punchline among our friends. ("We're picking up the rocks to landscape our yard this weekend." "Oh, so you got invited to dinner at Charlotte's too?" Ha ha ha.)

The problem stems from having my cake and wanting to eat it too. Some healthy living ascetics can give up sugar, fat and every other vice with nary a backward glance (I'm looking at you, Dr. J!). But for me a life without brownies is just too depressing to contemplate. My compromise is to make substitutions.

There is also the other end of the spectrum: the just-eat-the-cake-already people like Bethenney Frankel and all the Intuitive Eaters. If you want coffee cake, the reasoning goes, eat a little of the best coffee cake you can find, don't deprive yourself and you'll be sated. However, I have a rather addictive personality or perhaps my tastebuds are just slow to catch on but if I eat only three bites of a really yummy dessert I'm going to feel deprived. I will want more than three bites and telling me to stop there will only make me want to eat more. So we're back to the substitutions.

Lest you think I'm brilliant - I hate to disillusion you but really you should know better by now - I am not the first person to come up with this idea. There are whole books and websites dedicated to making healthy, yummy food. They also happen to be run by people who are much better cooks than I am. Now the key for me is to hone my mad kitch skillz to the point that I don't wreck their recipes. It might also help if I got some real cooking equipment.

What's your food philosophy: have a little bit of what you really crave or focus on healthifying the decadent recipes? Any other chronic food ruiners in the house? Anyone else still cooking with the utensils they got at the thrift store in college?