Fitness Breakout

Break Free From the Average Body Type

Category Archives: Just For Fun

New Year New Blog

Where have I been the last two months?

Hey everyone! I haven’t posted on here in a while because I’ve been working on a new project. During the past year and a half, I’ve learned a lot about the world of blogging and built this blog, Fitness Breakout, from the ground up. Health and fitness is a huge part of my life, but there are a couple of other subjects which like health and fitness are extremely important and increasingly relevant in today’s society that I am also very enthusiastic about. These subjects are personal finance and enjoying life.

New Year New Blog

There are a lot of amazing fitness blogs out there. Continue reading →

Teenage Weight Loss Tips for Gen Y

“The number of kids affected by obesity has tripled since 1980, and this can be traced in large part to lack of exercise and a healthy diet.” –Virginia Foxx

When it comes to teenage obesity, we are dealing with a new phenomenon.

A few decades ago, obesity among teens pretty much didn’t exist and no one was writing about ideas for teenage weight loss. Today, it seems like teens are becoming heavier and just as susceptible to deadly, obesity-related diseases as their parents and grandparents. I believe the reasons for this are the same reasons for the increase in overall obesity: mainly lack of sufficient physical activity and a diet that consists of too much processed junk food. First, I’ll talk about the physical activity component because I believe that this is the most critical for teens.

This is a good example of what not to do for teenage weight loss.

I used to believe that you can’t outexercise a poor diet, but I’ve changed my stance. Continue reading →

The Best Metabolic Workout Routine for Fat Loss

“If you keep changing your program and including high-intensity exercise, your body will burn a lot of calories trying to keep up.” –Craig Ballantyne

In my last post, I discussed metabolism.

To recap, your metabolism is driven by several factors.  The one factor that is the most influential (and also the one you have the most control over) is your activity level.  So you should strive to be more active if you want to raise your metabolism.  Based on this, it makes sense to spend as much time as possible exercising.  Will any exercise do the trick, though?  Are there some forms of exercise that do more to increase your metabolism than others?  After all, you do want to be efficient in your fitness (and in everything else you do).  The answer is yes.  There are certain types of exercise that are superior to others when it comes to boosting your metabolism and thus your overall calorie burn.  The best metabolic workout routine for fat loss is a high-intensity workout.

Kettlebell training is a fantastic metabolic workout routine.

You’ve probably heard a lot about high-intensity exercise and its benefits. Continue reading →

What is Metabolism?

“I guess I don’t mind so much being old, as I mind being fat and old.” –Peter Gabriel

Metabolism is one of the most misunderstood concepts in fitness.

The purpose of this article is to provide a simple but accurate explanation for one of the most important concepts you need to grasp if you want to get lean and stay lean for life. There are so many misconceptions about metabolism floating around and if you buy into them, you may very well be approaching health and fitness in a counterproductive way or at best, in a suboptimal way. If you want to optimize your body’s fat burning capabilities, you must first understand how your body uses energy. What is metabolism? The answer will help you unlock your body’s true fat burning potential.

What is metabolism? Despite what you may have heard, it's not all genetics and age.

I am not a biochemist and I don’t pretend to be one. Continue reading →

What is Lean Muscle and How Do You Get It?

“I go for two kinds of men. The kind with muscles, and the kind without.” –Mae West

Becoming lean and muscular is the holy grail of fitness.

The Hollywood celebrity look is often placed on a pedestal and for good reason. Look at movie stars like Brad Pitt, Ryan Reynolds, and Taylor Lautner. Then look at the people around you. How many people among your family, friends, and coworkers have achieved this kind of physique? Chances are few to none. The reason for this is simple. Everyday people either don’t know what it takes to get into this type of condition, don’t care enough to do so, or both. Almost everyone I know falls into one of these three categories. When you think about the build of the stars I mentioned, one of the first things that comes to mind is “lean muscle”. But what is lean muscle?

What is lean muscle?

What is lean muscle? Continue reading →

5 Fun Ways to Exercise and Stay in Shape

The best way to stick with anything is to make sure you’re enjoying yourself. Finding fun ways to exercise and stay in shape may be the most important thing you can do for your long-term health.

Rafi’s last guest post on the importance of a bodyweight workout was a big hit, so here is another one!

Bio: Rafi Bar-Lev is the blogger behind Passionate Fitness, where he recently wrote about how to gain weight fast without fat. Check it out!

You know, whether you want to gain muscle, lose weight, or just feel healthy – getting into great shape is really not that difficult. In fact, a huge portion of the information out there about weight loss or weight gain is actually quite accurate. So the question is – with so much good information available – while are people still having trouble getting into great shape?

Find fun ways to exercise!

Well, there’s one simple answer to that question. Continue reading →

Health and Wellness Jobs for Everyone

“Seventy percent of success in life is showing up.” –Woody Allen

In my last post, I talked about work ethic.

As an adult, you need a good work ethic to succeed at anything, including health and fitness. So how do you build a health and fitness work ethic? Begin a career in health and fitness. By this, I don’t mean quit your job and become a nutritionist or personal trainer. I mean take on a part-time job of eating healthy and working out and stick with it. Think about it… if we all had health and wellness jobs, would obesity exist? I realize this may sound a little crazy, but I have developed this mentality over the last couple of years and it works.

What if we all had health and wellness jobs?

Why does it work? Continue reading →

Develop Health and Fitness Work Ethic Traits

“I learned that the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to work hard at it. Whether you’re a musician, a writer, an athlete or a businessman, there is no getting around it. If you do, you’ll win-if you don’t you won’t.” –Bruce Jenner

This is the first of two posts on the importance of having a health and fitness mentality.

My whole life, I’ve been intrigued by people who are the best at what they do. If they are people I know, I ask them how they go about things and if they are more well-known role models such as sports stars or successful business people, I read about them. I’ve noticed a few changes from my childhood days to my adult days. One big difference I’ve noticed is how people who are the best at what they do get to that stage. Developing good work ethic traits becomes very important as an adult.

Developing good work ethic traits is important to succeed at anything.

When I was younger, people just seemed to naturally be the best. Continue reading →

Sports Drink Comparison: Market vs. Homemade

“It’s true that the time immediately after a weight workout is a prime opportunity for protein synthesis.” –Mark Sisson

I used to not buy into the idea of recovery drinks.

Recently, I have changed my stance. I started doing P90X about three weeks ago and one of the “add-ons” they recommend for the program is a post-workout recovery drink. I’ll admit, I used to believe that simply taking in enough protein throughout the day would be sufficient to get the most out of my workouts. Then I watched the intro video for the P90X recovery drink by Mark Sisson. I’m a huge fan of Mark, so I decided to get on board and give the recovery drink a shot. I began having a recovery drink within the recommended one hour window immediately following a workout and I have been pleasantly surprised.

Don't underestimate the power of a quality recovery drink!

I’ve noticed it does actually help quite a bit. Continue reading →

Bravo Burrito Beach Body Diet

“Wow, this burrito is delicious, but it is filling.” –Ron Burgundy

A new burrito joint recently opened in Jacksonville Beach.

It’s called Bravo Baja. Before I even set foot in the restaurant for the first time, I had heard plenty of praise through word of mouth. The biggest burrito you can imagine with all the works for $5? I’m a huge fan of Mexican food and this just seemed too good to be true. But, when I went to check it out for myself, I was pleased to see that the rumors were true. The burrito was phenomenal. All the ingredients were fresh and I had mine loaded with carne asada steak, Spanish rice, Mexican potatoes, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, sautéed onions and mushrooms, peppers, white salsa1, cilantro, and the kicker… bacon! Beach body diet, anyone?

This is my new go-to burrito spot at the beach!

Why am I talking about this on my fitness blog? Continue reading →

How to Improve Your Muscle and Strength Workout Routines

“Chronic low grade inflammation is a link between obesity, overeating and disease.” -Brad Pilon

Does your lifestyle impact your ability to build muscle?

Brad Pilon says it does. I am a huge fan of Brad Pilon’s work. He wrote Eat Stop Eat, which is essentially the bible of intermittent fasting for fat loss. His most recent research has focused on the inflammation theory of muscle growth. This theory attempts to explain the connection between the body’s inflammatory response and its ability to build muscle. While this theory is still a work in progress, it does address how your lifestyle impacts the effectiveness of your muscle and strength workout routines. It is also backed up by science. In fact, it may be too scientific for the average person, so I’m going to do my best to summarize it for the layman.

Inflammation... good or bad?

What is inflammation? Continue reading →

Aerobics are the Best Memory Improvement Exercises

“Regular physical exercise is probably the best means we have of preventing Alzheimer’s disease today… Better than medications, better than intellectual activity, better than supplements and diet.” – Dr. Ronald Petersen (Mayo Clinic)

Alzheimer’s disease is a growing problem.

Unlike other major diseases where death rates have been reduced over the past several years, Alzheimer’s disease death rates have increased almost 50%. In fact, Alzheimer’s is ranked 7th in leading causes of death among all individuals in the US and 5th in the leading causes of death among seniors age 65 and older.1 The financial statistics are even more staggering. Global costs of dementia were over $600 billion in 2010. This is equivalent to 1% of the world’s GDP. Further, these costs are projected to increase by at least 85% within the next 20 years.2 Considering all of the above, it’s no surprise that people are searching for the best memory improvement exercises.

Alzheimer's disease is a growing worldwide problem.

What if there was a simple prevention mechanism for Alzheimer’s that anyone can practice? Continue reading →

Calculate Body Fat Percentage to Track Fitness Goals

“To fail to plan is to plan to fail.” -Benjamin Franklin

Some of you may have heard of SMART goal setting.

For those of you who haven’t, SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. The idea, in a nutshell, is that all goals should be SMART if they are going to be of any use at all. There is no point setting a goal that lacks even one of these five components. In this post, I’m going to discuss how to calculate body fat percentage and how that relates to the “measurable” component.

Don't drive yourself nuts by setting ambiguous fitness goals.

First, let me say a few things about the “specific” component. Continue reading →

Cut Calories to Maintain Weight During the Holidays

“What I don’t like about office Christmas parties is looking for a new job the next day.” -Phyllis Diller

Tis the season to be jolly… and gain weight.

You might as well call the holidays weight gain season.  After all, this is pretty much what it is.  During the last couple of months in the year, we are being constantly bombarded with food.  Let’s face it.  When you’re standing in front of a firing squad and getting shelled, you’re going to get hit.  The goal of this post isn’t to encourage you avoid holiday foods altogether.  This will just make you miserable.  The objective is to show you some easy ways to do damage control so that you don’t turn into the next Jabba the Hutt this Christmas.  Here are three easy ways to cut calories to maintain weight during the holidays.

Beware of excessive milk and cookies this holidy season.

Modify intermittent fasting to include shorter and more frequent fasts. Continue reading →

The Best Way to Get Ripped Before an Event

“This is one of the last times this year you’re gonna see the abs.” –Usher

Got something big coming up?

Many people want to know the best way to get ripped for a big event.  Whether it’s a wedding, a beach vacation, or a photo shoot, certain occasions call for you to look your best.  So, I’ve been MIA for a while because I had an event to attend: my friend’s wedding.  After that, I was out of town visiting my parents and studying for an actuarial exam, not that you all care about any of that.  What you may care about is that I had an opportunity to get event-ready and blog about it.  Another one of my friends jokingly challenged me to see who could get a better six-pack before the wedding, so I ran with it.  I had a couple of months before the wedding, so I decided to take on the challenge whether or not the competition was actually going to take place (which it never did).

A beach vacation is a great time to get event ready.

What exactly did I do? Continue reading →

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