EPOC stands for Excess Postexercise Oxygen Consumption, and it refers to the boost in metabolism, or calories and fat burning, that comes after a workout.

When you train, you burn calories to fuel your muscles, but when you´re done, your body keeps burning more calories and fat than normal.

This is due to the process involved in recovery: after exercise, your body must repair damaged muscle fibers, restock muscle glycogen levels, remove lactic acid from the muscles, etc. All these processes require calories, and a lot of those calories may come from bodyfat.

High Intensity Interval Training boosts EPOC much more than cardio done at one steady intensity level.

Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant abundant in red tomatoes and processed tomato products (tomato juice).

Scientific research has discovered that lycopene may help prevent prostate cancer and some other forms of cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases.

Research shows that lycopene in tomatoes can be absorbed more efficiently by the body if processed into juice, sauce, paste and ketchup. The chemical form of lycopene found in tomatoes is converted by the temperature changes involved in processing to make it more easily absorbed by the body.

Regular high consumption of fruits and vegetables is recommended as part of healthy eating.

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HIIT is an acronym for High Intensity Interval Training. This aerobic workout is very good for improving heart and lungs conditioning, as well as for fat burning, especially around the waist. In fact, by doing HIIT, you raise your metabolism and trick your body, so it continues to burn calories for up to 6 hours after the exercise, as if you were still exercising.

The HIIT sequence can be performed at home or in a gym on a treadmill, or outside, on a track or in a park.

A HIIT sequence is made by alternating 1 minute walking and 1 minute running, 1 minute walking and 1 minute running and so on, constantly changing the speed of the walk and the speed of the run.

So, for instance, if you are performing a sequence on the treadmill, you could follow a pattern like this: 1 minute walk at speed 5,00 Km/h, followed by 1 minute run at speed 8,00 Km/h, followed by 1 minute walk at 5,5 Km/h, followed by 1 minute run at 7,5 Km/h, and so on.

Always perform a 5 minute walk as a warm-up before the HIIT sequence, and a 5 minute walk as a cool-down after the HIIT sequence.

Slowly increase the duration of the HIIT sequence, so that your body will not adapt itself and you can continually benefit from this exercise.

Once you have finished with the exercise, perform some stretching for the lower part of the body: quads, hamstrings and calves.

Roberto Bocchetti is a certified personal trainer in Playa del Ingles, on the beautiful island of Gran Canaria (Spain). Contact: Tel. (+34) 636 903 009.

Cinnamon seems to offer many benefits for our health. Studies have shown that just 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon per day can lower LDL cholesterol and may have a regulatory effect on blood sugar, making it especially beneficial for people with Type 2 diabetes.

Cinnamon has also shown an amazing ability to stop medication-resistant yeast infections and has an anti-clotting effect on the blood.

So, remember to sprinkle some cinnamon on your coffee or cappuccino.

Massage is thought to be the oldest form of medical therapy practiced on the human body. The different types of massage and the various techniques that encompass them stem from our most celebrated civilizations and their traditional beliefs ancient Greek and Rome, ancient India and China.

Dating as far back as 2,700 B.C., ancient Eastern Chinese cultures practiced massage to heal a variety of ailments from labor pain to paralysis. Ancient Egyptian tombs have been discovered adorned with images of figures being massaged. In addition, according to traditional Indian medicine, a system known as Ayurveda, therapeutic massage was performed using a variety of aromatherapy oils and spices for their healing properties. Even Greek and Roman heroes - such as the great Julius Caesar - underwent daily massages to treat nerve pain.

In Western culture the most practiced form of massage is undoubtedly Swedish massage. First introduced in the 19th century, Swedish masseuses were thought to have borrowed many of their techniques from traditional China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome masseuses. A variety of the most effective massage techniques have also been incorporated into other complementary therapies - aromatherapy, Reiki, reflexology, Rolfing, Amma therapy and osteopathy.

Many of our now popular modern massage techniques were created in order to heal specific health conditions. For example, soldiers who fought in World War I were administered massage for nerve damage and to soothe shell shock in western hospitals during the 1930s.

Massage is still used today for treating a wide range of ages from babies to seniors - in a variety of intensive care, health club, and health clinic and hospital settings. To this day, massage is still used to treat various conditions such as premature birth, various types of cancer, AIDS, osteoarthritis, lumbar back pain, nerve damage, fibromyalgia, paralysis, heart attack, and stroke.

Roberto Bocchetti is a certified masseur, personal trainer and fitness consultant in Playa del Ingles, on the beautiful island of Gran Canaria (Spain).

He works with tourists and residents and he also provides online consultation for those living far from Gran Canaria, who are serious into developing a training program to improve their body shape and health.

Contact:

Tel. (+34) 636 903 009 - E-mail: musclerob@gmail.com - Website: www.musclerob.com

If you feel lethargic and have difficulty to lose body fat, despite a healthy low-calorie diet, try the following ways to help revive and boost your metabolism.

Don´t starve.

Dropping your calorie intake below 1,000 calories a day will signal to your body that you are in starvation mode, and will slow down your metabolism.

Eat smaller meals more frequently.

Smaller, more frequent meals keeps your blood sugar stable and provides a steady source of energy to fuel metabolism.

Get enough aerobic exercise.

As much as you can is really a help for your metabolism, and if you do it in the morning, you’ll raise your metabolism all day.

Build muscle with weight training or resistance exercise.

At least two to three times a week, you should add weight training or progressive resistance exercise that builds muscle. Muscle burns more calories than fat, and the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even at rest!

Drink water, water, water!!

You’ve heard it before, but drink those 10 big glasses of water every day. The energy burning process of metabolism needs water to work effectively.

Roberto Bocchetti is a certified personal trainer, fitness consultant & masseur in Playa del Ingles, Gran Canaria (Spain).

Contact:  Tel. (+34) 636 903 009 - www.musclerob.com - E-mail: musclerob@gmail.com

If you want to lose weight, get healthy and/or build muscle, hiring a personal trainer can be a step in the right direction. A good personal trainer can help you set up a program that meets your goals and teach you the best way to exercise.

Here’s what you should know before you hand over the cash.

A personal trainer should be, at the least, educated and certified through a reputable fitness organization. But, being certified is not enough: make sure that the personal trainer you are thinking to hire has at least 2-3 years working experience in the gym.

Only by training thousands of different individuals - each one with his/her own capabilities, physical and psychological structures, needs and goals - a personal trainer can really call him or herself “certified”.

This person’s job is to assess your fitness level, set up a program for you and keep you motivated. He or she will push you past your comfort level - something difficult to do on your own.

A trainer also provides:

- guidance on reaching your goals

- education about strength training, cardio and basic nutrition

- a reason to show up at the gym each week

- accountability

- ways to help track your progres.

Personality is important too, since you’ll be working very closely with this person. Make sure you get along with your trainer and feel comfortable asking questions.

Each session lasts about an hour. The first meeting is devoted to assessing fitness level, body measurements, exercise and health history and goals. Be prepared to step on the scale, have your body fat tested and answer specific questions about your goals. After that, you’ll spend most of your time on strength training and cardio.

How to Find a Personal Trainer

Get a referral from a friend who’s had success in reaching their goals with a personal trainer.

When you’re at the gym, watch trainers with their clients and see how they interact. Make a note of trainers who get along with their clients and seem fully involved in their workouts…that may be a good one to choose.

You can also look in your yellow pages or on the advertising in magazines or newspapers of your area.

Roberto Bocchetti is a certified personal trainer, fitness consultant and masseur. After working as a personal trainer and masseur in Milan (Italy) for more than 10 years, in 2006 Roberto moved to Playa del Ingles, on the beautiful island of Gran Canaria (Spain), where he continues its activity with residents and tourists.

Contact: Tel. (+34) 636 903 009 - website: www.musclerob.com

Significant Points:

Employment is expected to grow faster than average over the 2006-16 period as more people learn about the benefits of massage therapy.

Many States require formal training and national certification in order to practice massage therapy.

This occupation includes a large percentage of part-time and self-employed workers.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor - Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Benefits of massage therapy

A July 2001 survey conducted by the American Massage Therapy Association found that the number of adults receiving massages from a massage therapist more than doubled since 1997.Most healthcare providers are recognizing massage therapy as a legitimate aid for lower back pain and an effective adjunct to lower back treatments. Fifty-four percent of healthcare providers say they will encourage their patients to pursue massage therapy in addition to medical treatment.

A study on massage and back pain conducted at the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami in 2001 found that: “Massage lessened lower back pain, depression and anxiety, and improved sleep. The massage therapy group also showed improved range of motion and their serotonin and dopamine levels were higher.” (International Journal of Neuroscience, 106, 131-145.)

According to the American Massage Therapy Association, research shows that massage therapy provides several important health benefits, including:

• Massage improves blood circulation, which aids in recovery of muscle soreness from physical activity.
• Massage relaxes muscles for an improved range of motion. The muscle relaxation also helps with insomnia.
• Massage leads to increased endorphin levels. The increase of endorphin levels is actually one of the greatest benefits of massage therapy. Endorphins are the chemicals the body produces that make you feel good, which is very effective in managing chronic pain.