What is Tae Bo?

I see a lot of people doing Tae Bo and I actually went to such a training session. I must say I loved it, it was a little similar to my personal combination of Mixed Martial Arts and ground exercises routine. Mine was more intense in terms of muscle usage but I really tend to think that Tae Bo is a lot better when talking about aerobics, muscle tonification and loosing weight. Tae Bo is basically an aerobic exercise routine. It was invented by Billy Blanks, an individual that practiced tae kwon do and boxing. By combining elements from these two styles of fighting and music choreography Tae Bo was born. It was the original "cardio-boxing" routine and basically uses martial arts movement at rapid pace while promoting body fitness.

Tae Bo is a combination of boxing and tae kwon do and this is where the name comes from. Later a backronym was thought of: "Total Awareness Excellence Body Obedience". Belive it or not, it all started in 1989 and thanks to the fact that Billy Blanks started training some celebrities like Paula Abdul in the nineties now we have some sort of pop culture type movement in some areas. Some of the best sold training DVDs out there are Tae Bo related and many gyms offer this type of aerobic training.

Do not think you will practice Tae Bo and learn martial arts. This is not the case. There are no throws, ground moves or grappling moves here. It is all intended to make your body stronger in terms of fitness. You might learn to kick and hit better but it will not really teach you to fight. If you think about fighting and self defense maybe you should try mixed martial arts for the most similar effect to tae bo in terms of intensity. Tae Kwon Do is also a very good option. To sum it all up this high-intensity workout in Tae Bo is aiming to increase cardiovascular fitness, strength, muscular endurance and flexibility. You will not get stronger or gain muscular endurance unless you really are a beginner at training!

Water in Bodybuilding

There is one simple rule that says: "If you do not know how much water you are drinking then there is a big chance it is not enough for your body!". Lack of water immediately transforms in a less effective nutrition plan. When on a diet water is the most important ingredient you need to look at and so few people understand this. Many individuals start counting calories, fat grams, protein take in but fail to know how much water they drink. As mentioned above this means they are not drinking enough. It is very important in nutrition and bodybuilding in general to know how much water you consume.

You also need to know some other facts as well. First, if you are thirsty it does not mean you are dehydrated. On the contrary, knowing how much water to drink depends on how thirsty you are. Secondly, it is said that if your urine is dark then you are dehydrated. That can not be considered to in bodybuilding or in any other sport because there are many factors that can change urine color to dark. The last myth you have to understand refers to caffeine. Many individuals belive that it dehydrates the body. Well, studies proved that it actually hydrates people that are used to caffeine and together with teas and sodas they can even be useful in hydration for some bodybuilders.

As mentioned above, drinking water should be done when you are thirsty. There is a chance to overdue it though and it has to be avoided. Let us keep it simple. Before a workout be sure you are hydrated and drink a glass or two of water. Then, every 15 minutes you spend at the gym should translate in another glass of water, especially if you are sweating a lot. Do not neglect water in bodybuilding, fitness or any other sport. It can help out!

Who Is Joe Weider?

Josef E. "Joe" Weider was born on November 29, 1922 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 

He is the Canadian co-founder of the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) together with his brother Ben Weider. Joe Weider also created Mr. Olympia and Ms. Olympia. 

What few people know is that Joe Weider started his empire with just $7 at the tender age of 17. He built barbells out of car axles and wheels. Later he became a manufacturer of gym exercise equipment and one of the first people ever to focus on nutrition as a part of bodybuilding. 

His line of nutritional supplements is one of the most recognized across the world.

Joe Weider introduced the mental approach to working out. He never claimed to be an innovator. He always said he took different elements from different sources and synthesized them into bodybuilding. To sum it up, Weider is one of the first that put together and introduced a series of training principles that successful bodybuilders use today:

1. Pre-Exhaustion Training
2. Pyramiding
3. Super sets
4. Muscle Priority Training
5. Set System Training
6. Instinctive Training
7. Giant Sets
8. Tri-Sets
9. Staggered Sets
10. Compound Sets

We have a lot to thank Weider. Without him bodybuilding would not have been the way we know it today!

3 Forms of Creatine

Few people are aware of this simple fact but you should know that there are three forms of creatine available for buying: monohydrate, citrate and phosphate. 

What you also need to understand is that phosphate creatine is not easy to absorb by one's body and is not so effective in bodybuilding, so there is a big chance you will not get the expected results. 

With citrate creatine research is not conclusive although it does become more popular each day. Monohydrate creatine has been used in research in most cases and is the one that has the most proven results. 

This is why, until further news, you should try and look for monohydrate creatine in my view!

Low Fat Diets - Are they Good?

The answer to this question is very simple: NO! Low fat diets are very bad for an individual's general well-being, not to mention his health. This is because healthy fat is very important in keeping your skin looking good, lubricated joints and a key factor in hormone production. If you want to eliminate something from your diet you need to start with sugar and not fat! By doing this you will actually get your glucoze level to be in a healthy range and this induces fat loss. Just do this! Eliminate sugar all together from your diet for a week or two and keep on doing what you do! You will see something change!

If you chose to go for a low fat diet your testosterone level will drop together with progesterone production. In case you did not know, both are important for men and women in order to loose weight. It's simple, if you do not have enough fat in your diet you won't have enough levels of testosterone to aid you in loosing weight because you can not develop muscle. Building muscle is the best way to get rid of fat and keeping it off.