Here’s a chart that breaks down the levels of cholesterol in different protein brands. Click for full size chart.

You Have Options as to What Kind of Squats You Start With.
You can do:

• Body Weight Squats —>Great to start out with in the beginning.

• Door Squats —> Good for those with balance problems

• Smith Machine Squats —-> For serious results without the need for spotters

• Barbell Squats —> The king of leg and butt builders. Your goal should be these.

Body Weight Squats: These will get you ready for the barbell with less soreness.
Look for barbell and door squats below in this post.

THE PERFECT BODY WEIGHT SQUAT

1. Stand with feet 1-2 foot widths wider than shoulders
2. Feet should be pointing straight forward or turned a little out to the sides
3. Arms in front for balance
4. Inhale as you go down
5. Drive through your heels and exhale as you stand up
6. Do not lock knees out completely

Do up to 3 sets of as many as you can do comfortably. Start with 3 sets 15 or 20, then move up to 30 per set, then 50 when you feel you can perform easily. Both men and women athletes can perform hundreds.

**You will see your best progress though by using a barbell in my opinion but these are great to start with.

Squats are “whole body” exercise, and you should ultimately perform them with some added weight. There is a lot to keep track of while doing squats and it is extremely helpful to do them in front of a mirror to make sure your form is good.
Video thanks to the very good people at Crossfit.

New research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s K.G. Jebsen Center of Exercise in Medicine provides statistical evidence that the 50-year-old can be just as physically fit as a 20 year old. But couch potatoes need not apply. Exercise — hard and often is essential to truly staying young. Say the researchers from Jebsen Center.

Middle-aged guys can take heart in research from the Center. They have determined that activity is far more important than age as far as fitness levels — and an active 50-year-old can be every bit as fit as a sedentary 20-year-old, says Ulrik Wisloff, Jebsen Center director and principle investigator of the study.

The study shows that by increasing the intensity of your exercise, you can avert the list of diseases that plaque today’s middle aged male.

“Physical condition is the most important factor in describing an individual’s overall health, almost like a report card,” says Stian Thoresen Aspenes of the center.

Training Intensity is Much More Important than Length

Interval training involves performing short periods of high intensity exercise followed by periods of  low intensity exercise of the same length. Such as: Sprint for 1 min. – walk for 1 min. that would be one interval. Depending on your level of fitness to do 3 to 10 intervals and structure them dozens of ways to fit your purposes. Look out for a special report on interval training coming up soon right here.

But a new study at Ohio State University disagrees with me. The study shows the two sexes differ greatly in their weight gain after marital status changes. The head researcher on the paper Dimitry Tumin, is a doctoral student at Ohio State.

He says “divorces for men and, to some extent, marriages for women promote weight gain that may be large enough to pose a health risk.” It seems that the likelihood of gaining huge gobs of fat is highest if the status change comes when you’re over 30. Tumin says, “For someone in their mid-20s, there is not much of a difference in the probability of gaining weight between someone who just got married and someone who never married. But later in life, there is much more of a difference.” The team presented their study at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Las Vegas on August 22.

After 200 years… yes absolutely. This formula can be so inaccurate it can, classify a trained bodybuilder, with 6% body fat, as obese. The U.S. Army has used this type of standardized measurement for years and fit soldiers have actually been pushed out of the service for having too much muscle.

Obesity-related diseases account for nearly 10 percent of U.S. medical costs, which is estimated at around $150 billion per year. Obesity has become a worldwide epidemic, more than half a billion people, or one in 10 adults worldwide, are considered to be obese using standardized measurements – this is more than double the number in 1980.

A group of scientists have recently developed a brand new way to measure if a person is too fat by using measurement calculations..

The new measurement, called the Body Adiposity Index, or BAI, depends on height and hip dimensions, and is meant to present a more adaptable alternative to the body mass index, or BMI, a ratio of height and weight.

BMI has been used to measure body fat for the past 200 years, yes 200, and is seriously flawed.

While there are other, more accurate ways to calculate body fat beyond merely stepping on the scale, the BMI is broadley used by both doctors and scientists.

BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. A person who is 5 feet 5 inches tall is classified as overweight at 150 pounds (68 kg) and obese at 180 pounds (82 kg).

But this can be ridiculously inaccurate in certain circumstances.

For example, women and men with the same BMI might have very different levels of extra flab. BMI numbers cannot be generalized across different ethnic groups or used with athletes, who have extra lean body mass.

The new formula was created using data from a Mexican-American population study. They confirmed the scale’s accuracy using an advanced device called a dual-energy X-ray absorption or DEXA scanner. Tests in a study of African Americans showed similar findings, suggesting BAI can be used across different racial groups.

BAI is a complex ratio of hip circumference to height that can be calculated by doctors or nurses with a computer or calculator.

“After further validation, this measure can be proposed as a useful measure of percent fat, which is very easy to obtain. However, it remains to be seen if the BAI is a more useful predictor of health outcome, in both males and females, than other indexes of body adiposity, including the BMI itself,” the team wrote.

The team says BAI still needs some fine tuning, and they still need to test it among whites and other ethnic groups, but they think it has promise as new tool, especially in remote settings with limited access to reliable scales.

Displayed by lab rats, if one ran about 1/2 a km every week it was shielded from memory loss due to infection.

“Our research shows that a small amount of physical exercise by late middle-aged rats profoundly protects against exaggerated inflammation in the brain and long-lasting memory impairments that follow a serious bacterial infection,” Barrientos said.

“If you loved the ’300 workout’ and found the ‘Beowulf workout’ to be a perfectly painful challenge then you’ll also enjoy this lung burner called ‘Dirty 30′. This is another high intensity interval strength training workout that produces dramatic results when attacked with an ‘all in’ attitude. It takes a lot of power, endurance, and mental toughness to gut through it in record time.”

Jerry Hill. Maniac

“Jerry Hill’s Dirty 30 CrossFit Workout”

*30 reps each once through for time*

Kettlebell Swing (35lb Women – 55lb Men)

Wallball (12W – 15M)

Box Jump (26″W – 32″M)

Hang Clean to a Push press (55W – 75M)

Pushup

Jumping Pullup

Kettlebell High Pull (52W – 70M)

Jumping Slamball (12W – 15M)

Dumbbell Situp and Press (15W – 25M)

Burpees!

*Scaled the load as need*

If you can perform the workout with the prescribed weights here are some times to shoot for:

Sub 15 minutes: Off the charts, you are a fitness legend!

15-17 minutes: Not many fitter than you

17-19: Capable of tough tasks, you’re in top shape

19-21: Right there, almost at the top level

21+ Keep working on you conditioning, you are almost there!

Kettlebell Swing

Tip: Keep your spine extended, chest up Dip the hips back, letting the Kettlebell naturally fall underneath you – Explosively drive your hips forward to the Kettlebell – the goal is to create momentum and elevation so the Kettlebell becomes weightless – absorb the force of the returning Kettlebell by dipping your hips back again and quickly re-direct forward again. Standard: The Kettlebell should be swung high enough so it’s out of your direct line of vision – Hands convincingly above head level.

Wallball

Tip: Squat with a medicine ball held High and Close to your chest. As you explosively rise out of the squat continue your vertical momentum and aggressively throw the medicine ball to an 8-10 foot target. With hands held high catch the ball on the rebound and continue the cycle for multiple repetitions. Keep the movement fluid and cyclic. Standard: Squat to slightly below parallel Use a barrier if you want a consistent standard of depth.

Box Jump

Tip: Explosively jump up on a bench, mats, or box – stick your landing and come to a standing position – hop back down or step backwards down – repeat process. Standard: Fully extend your hips at the top (STAND UP!)

Hang Clean to a Push Press

Tip: Hang power clean Stand with barbell – grip should be slightly outside the thighs Quickly dip the bar until it touches mid-thigh Keep your shoulders over the bar with spine extended Jump up, extending the hips, shrug the shoulders, keep bar close to body Arms are straight – They don’t bend until your hips are fully extended As bar is elevated quickly dip under it, whip elbows under and around the bar and catch bar on your shoulders Push Press From the above catch position (hips are dipped slightly) jump and punch the barbell to the overhead position of support Standard: Correct overhead position of support is “elbows in ear”. Oh and, Rest Later…

Pushup

Tip: Start in arms straight, body tight, plank pushup position Keep your head up, neck neutral – draw navel in Bend arms, keep body straight, drop chest, hips, and chin to the ground All 3 should touch at the same time Extend arms, keep body straight, stay tight. Standard: Chest, Hips, Chin touch the ground at the same time Arms fully extended (straight) at the top

Jumping Pullups

Tip: Grab a chin-up bar, rope, or tree branch so that your feet still touch the ground and your arms are almost straight overhead but not locked – jump with your legs and pull with your arms simultaneously until you get your chin over your hands. Standard: Jump and pull fist’s to chest – Arms extended on the bottom

Kettlebell High Pull

Tip: First time exercisers can pick up the basic movement of the Highpull in a few minutes. However, most people tend to muscle the Kettlebell making it a segmented movement. Instead, try to create momentum and elevation on the Kettlebell using vertical hip drive. Standard: Let the Kettlebell touch the ground for each repetition Bring KB to throat, keep elbows high

Jumping Slamball

Tip: Jump up with a medicine ball, arms straight overhead (full extension) and then SLAM the BALL on the ground. Quickly drop your butt down and go straight into squat in order to catch the Medicine ball at the bottom; both are essential to get all the benefits of this movement. Once you get rolling you can really get into a rhythm of jumping up (full extension) and slam down. *Warning* You need a special Slamming medicine ball to do this movement. Most traditional Medicine balls bounce too much – If you slam a bouncing medicine ball it will come back up and knock you out, break your nose, or bust your teeth! The same movement of Jumping straight up then landing down in a squat can be duplicated by hanging on to the Medicine ball and tapping it on the ground. Standard: Arms straight at top Hips low at the bottom (full squat)

Dumbbell Situp and Press

Tip: Hold Dumbbell by Ends, start on chest As you situp start to press the weight Finish the movement with arms straight over your head fully seated Standard: Get to the proper overhead position of support Elbows in ears

Burpees

Tip: Squat down, place hands on ground wider than the feet – shoot your legs back until you are in a top pushup position, perform a pushup Quickly hop your feet forward back to the hands on ground squat position Jump up and reach into the air Standard: Full Pushup – Full extension on the Jump (be aware of forward lean/piking on jump)

DISCLAIMER

The Fitnessone.net is not responsible in any manner whatsoever for any harm or injury that may occur through following the instructions in this material. Specifically, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this special report. The activities, physical and otherwise, described herein are for informational purposes only, and may be too strenuous or dangerous for some people. The reader should consult his or her physician before engaging in them.

But the Better Business Bureau has issued a nationwide warning cautioning consumers to be wary of online ads relying on celebrity endorsements – including an apparently misleading pitch featuring Oprah Winfrey – to sell acai-berry-related weight loss products after receiving complaints against companies based in South Florida, Fort Worth and Arizona.

The supplement companies have not delivered what they promised in their ads, the Better Business Bureau said. Consumers have complained that they couldn’t cancel future deliveries of pills for which they were charged about $80 each month.

In South Florida, the Better Business Bureau has received 2,187 complaints against South Florida Nutrition Inc. (SFL Nutrition), 2,187 complaints against GlobalNet Pharmacies and more than 2,000 against Aton Solutions. The Boca Raton-based companies share multiple addresses but list the same individuals as registered agents and managers.

The Florida Attorney General’s office is also investigating consumer complaints against these three companies.

“Consumers are signed up for re-occurring orders without their authorization and are unable to cancel orders, obtain promised refunds or get customer assistance,” said Sandi Copes, a spokeswoman with the Attorney General’s Office.

The Better Business Bureau revoked GlobalNet Pharmacies’ membership because of the company’s affiliation with SFL Nutrition and Aton Solutions, spokesman Mike Galvin said.

In addition, the bureau has given all the companies an “F” rating based on their response to consumer complaints.

Anthony Pellegrino, one of the companies’ managers, said that SFL Nutrition wasn’t prepared to handle the large volume of orders and calls prompted by the ads.

“We have implemented a lot of things in the past couple of months,” Pellegrino said, adding that SFL Nutrition’s Web site has live customer service.

William White, CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Southeast Florida and Caribbean, said many businesses across the country are using the same selling model by luring buyers with free trial offers and celebrity endorsements.

In ads on social networking sites such as Facebook, Winfrey is shown apparently endorsing acai-berry products. Don Halcombe, a Harpo Productions Inc. spokesman, said Winfrey is not associated with the companies and doesn’t endorse any acai-berry products or online solicitation of such products.

The acai berry has been credited by supplement sellers with fighting cancer and other diseases. While a 2006 University of Florida study showed extracts from acai destroyed cultured human leukemia cells in the laboratory, researchers said this was not proof that acai berries could prevent cancer.

The purple berry, which tastes like a blend of fruit and chocolate, is harvested from the Amazon rain forest. It has become so popular that 1.5 million Google searches were logged in November.

Producers of acai-berry supplements, juices and tea have successfully marketed the products online. In 2008, sales reached $15 million, up from $500,000 in previous years.

Stephen Barrett, founder of Quackwatch.com, a consumer health advocacy site, said there’s little or no scientific evidence to support claims that supplements containing antioxidants prevent cancer and other illnesses or promote weight loss.

“The question is what data or evidence they based these claims on?” Barrett said. “This has been said about dozens of supplements, but a few trials have not had any promising results.”

Scientists made the discovery while studying mice that had two genes in muscle vital for exercise removed. The genes manipulate an enzyme that is turned on as you exercise.

Gregory Steinberg says “Mice love to run,”. He is an associate professor of medicine at Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine as well as Canada Research Chair in Obesity and Metabolism.

“While the normal mice could run for miles, those without the genes in their muscle could only run the same distance as down the hall and back. It was remarkable. The mice looked identical to their brothers or sisters but within seconds we knew which ones had the genes and which one didn’t.”

The scientists established that the mice without the genes had an impaired ability for their muscles to take up glucose while they exercise.

They also had inferior levels of mitochondria.

Steinberg stated, “When you exercise you get more mitochondria growing in your muscle. If you don’t exercise, the number of mitochondria goes down. By removing these genes we identified the key regulator of the mitochondria is the enzyme AMPK,” .

Scores of researchers on the planet are studying the enzyme involved, AMPK, however the McMaster University group is first to show this essential function in exercise. Their study is featured in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Steinberg thinks the findings are crucial for people who find it tough to exercise, like the obese, asthmatics and people in wheelchairs. Their lack of ability toward physical exercise could cause other problems such as heart disease or diabetes.

Steinberg himself runs or bikes to work. “It is the only way that I can manage to make sure I stay fit.” and says that, “As we remove activity from our lives due to emerging technology, the base level of fitness in the population is going down and that is reducing the mitochondria in people’s muscles. This in turn makes it so much harder for people to start exercising.”

An simpler way to say it would be “you use it or you lose it”, speaking of physical prowess, and that’s been widely known as a truism by many for many many moons. And it’s a good reason to get of the couch, or run five instead of three this evening.

Brown fat converts food energy directly into heat. It is so high-powered that just 2 ounces of this fat could burn 500 calories per day. Drug makers are, of course, trying to harness uncoupling in brown fat and other cells to ramp up metabolic rates, which might help manage  body fat by burning fat in larger quantities.

Another way to exploit brown fat might be to extract it via liposuction, make it grow in the laboratory, and then put it back into the patient. Escalating brown fat manufacture and action may very well help with weight loss and aid us in fighting the obesity epidemic.

The Boring Science-How Brown Fat Burns Fat

The body’s energy metabolism works by way of a sequence of coupled reactions:

This means that energy freed up by breaking down protein, carbohydrates and fat is then used in new reactions, like ATP synthesis (an energy transfer compound) or saved as fat and sugars. Uncoupling happens when the energy from food breakdown is released as heat instead of as ATP.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for the scientists to actually develop a compound for use by the public, but at least it’s good to know that progress is being made somewhere. The obesity epidemic continues to threaten the health of millions of our fellow humans.