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Standing Calf Raise (see the video below)

Starting Position:
• Stand with your feet 12-inches apart with your weight on the front or balls of the foot and knees slightly bent.
• You may wish to use a chair or wall for stability.

Movement:
• Contracting the calf muscles, lift your heels off the floor until you feel a full contraction of the calf muscles.
• Slowly return to the starting position stopping just short of your heels touching the floor.

Key Points:
• Exhale while lifting yourself up.
• Inhale while returning to the starting position.

Perform the above exercises for one to three sets of 12 repetitions on two to three alternate days of the week and use impeccable form.

The exercises above combined with a nutrition program that focuses on body fat reduction will greatly assist in preventing knee injuries. Make sure to add upper body strength exercises, cardio and flexibility exercises to your program as well.

Need help putting together the proper nutrition program?

Please check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

A drug-free competitive bodybuilder and winner of the prestigious WNBF (World Natural Bodybuilding Federation) Pro Card, Raphael Calzadilla is a veteran of the health-and-fitness industry. He specializes in a holistic approach to body transformation, nutrition programs and personal training. He earned his B.A. in communications from Southern Connecticut State University and is certified as a personal trainer with ACE and APEX. In addition, he successfully completed the RTS1 program based on biomechanics.

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Did you miss the first three exercises? Click here to go back!

Here's one anyone can do. If you're experienced and have access to gym equipment, you can use the prone leg curl machine. For beginners, try the one below. Again, we are attempting to strengthen surrounding muscles of the knees to reduce stress on the knees.

Lying Double Leg Curl

Starting Position:
--Lie on your stomach with both hands under your head for comfort.
--Ankle weights may be worn to increase intensity.

Movement:
--Contracting the hamstrings muscles, curl both legs toward your buttocks stopping when your knees are at a 90-degree angle.
--Slowly return to the starting position.

Key Points:
--Exhale while you curl your legs up.
--Inhale while returning to the starting position.

Now we move to the inside of the legs -- also referred to as the adductor muscles. Our goal is to completely strengthen the upper leg to protect those shock absorbers.

Lying Leg Adduction

Starting Position:
--Lie on your right side with your right arm supporting your upper body.
--Your right leg should be straight and your left leg should be bent.
--Support your weight on your right arm and left leg.

Movement:
• Contracting the inner thigh muscles, lift your right leg up until you feel a contraction of the inner thigh muscles.
• After completing the set on the right side, perform the exercise on the left side.

Key Points:
--Exhale while lifting your leg up.
--Inhale while returning to the starting position.
--You may use ankle weights to increase the level of difficulty.
--If you are an intermediate exerciser, you can add resistance to the inner thigh as you are lifting. You can resist your inner thigh with your hand or use a weighted object.

Now, let's make sure we strengthen the muscles below the knee. People seldom work their calf muscles and this is a critical muscle that helps support the knees.

CONTINUE TO THE NEXT EXERCISE >> Original Source:

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Recipe of the Week: Zesty Tuna Salad
You will need:

1 6 oz can of tuna, drained 1 tsp mayonnaise
1 tsp sweet pickle relish 1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 stalk celery, chopped 1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion

Directions:

1. Mash tuna in a bowl with a fork. Add mayo,relish, mustard, celery, onions, & pepper.
2. Stir to combine.
3. Chill and serve.

Nutritional Analysis: Serving size = 1/2 of recipe
Each serving includes: 132 Calories; 2.8g Fat; 27 mg, Cholesterol; 157 mg Sodium; 3.9g Carbohydrates; 22g Protein

Enjoy !!!!!!!!!

By Raphael Calzadilla
eDiets Chief Fitness Pro

Perform an Internet search concerning injuries and you'll find a lot of information about how to treat them. But where are all the articles about attempting to prevent knee injuries?

In the simplest of descriptions, the knee is a joint comprised of three bones and held together by four ligaments. Its job is to support the body and allow for shock absorption. From this description, it's obvious that excess body fat will place tremendous stress on the knees. The first strategy to adopt to prevent knee injuries is to reduce body fat. The second is to perform exercises that strengthen the surrounding muscles of the knees.

Here are several suggested exercises to help prevent knee injury:

Squats build strength in the lower body with an emphasis on the quadriceps (front of the thigh). If one is overweight, then chair squats without the use of weights can be performed. A lowering to a parallel position is not critical for those with excess weight. In fact, a partial lowering may be a better strategy to initially protect the knee while strengthening the quadriceps.

Chair Squat (see the video below)

Starting Position:
--Perform this exercise with the aid of a sturdy chair.
--Stand in front of the chair with your back toward the chair and feet shoulder-width apart.
--Keep your head up as a natural extension of your spine.

Movement:
--Begin to sit in the chair lowering your body until your legs are at a 90-degree angle (if possible).
--Contracting your quadriceps, slowly return to the starting position, stopping just short of the legs being fully extended. Keep a slight bend in the knees.

Key Points:
--Inhale while sitting in the chair.
--Exhale while raising yourself from the chair.
--As you get stronger, you will want to add resistance such as dumbbells in your hands.

Now that we've worked the front of the leg, it's time to hit the rear of the legs -- the hamstrings.

CONTINUE TO THE NEXT EXERCISE in next post


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Have a question about your routine or anything fitness-related? Send it Raphael's way at askraphael@ediets.com.


Dear Raphael,

I am around 5'3" and weigh around 130 pounds. I want to reduce my weight to 100-110 pounds. As I am not tall, even a slight gain in weight makes me look fat and dumpy.

My biggest problem areas are my tummy, arms and shoulders. I walk briskly four times a week for an hour while wearing a 20-pound body vest. I reduced my food intake, but not sure by how many calories.

Can you advise me how to lose the specific areas and also how do I lose my weight faster? - Natasha


Natasha,

To lose body fat in the specific areas you mention (tummy, arms and shoulders), you’ll have to lose body fat all over because spot reduction is not possible.

After some initial water weight loss, the body can lose about 2 pounds of fat per week without losing muscle, so I recommend making 1-2 pounds per week the goal.

There are 6 strategies I want you to begin using to get to your goal.

1. Control Blood Sugar – There is an old saying that fat-loss success is 80 percent nutrition. I’m not sure what the percentage actually is (no one does), but based on my experience it’s clear to me that it all begins with nutrition. If you don’t have your nutrition program “dialed in,” you will not achieve success. It doesn’t matter how hard or how long you work out.

This applies to everyone who starts a diet and fitness program. Your goal should be to control blood sugar because this helps to minimize body fat. This is accomplished by taking in some protein, carbohydrates and good fats at each meal/snack and spread evenly through the day every 2-3 hours -- and by not over eating.

A sample meal schedule might look something like this:

Breakfast – 6:30 a.m.
Snack – 9:30 a.m.
Lunch – 12:30 p.m.
Snack – 3:30 p.m.
Dinner – 6:00 p.m.
Small Snack – 9:00 p.m.

This method will have a profound impact on fat loss. However, don’t forget that calories must still be slightly below maintenance.

2. Calories Count – You mention you don’t know by how many calories you reduced, but it’s important that you know this information! Your goal is to eat as much as possible while still losing fat. For example, if I can get you to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week on 1,400 calories per day, I’m on track. If I try to accelerate the process and lower your calories to 1,200, I might sabotage your efforts by slowing the speed of your metabolism.

I'm not suggesting everyone should increase calories if they hit a sticking point. In many cases, some people aren't being consistent or their diet isn't as low-calorie as they think. However, knowing how many calories you’re consuming and by how many you’re lowering is important.

3. Eat Breakfast – A balanced breakfast comprised of carbohydrates, protein and a little fat is a critical start to the day. The point of consuming breakfast is to break the fast from an overnight sleep. In addition, breakfast will rev the metabolism for the rest of the day. This is your first opportunity of the day to get blood sugar back to a balanced state after the all-night fast and is critical for sustaining fat loss.

4. Ratios Count – A calorie is not a calorie. Do you know those people who tell you to simply lower your calories to lose fat? The people who never mention protein, carbohydrates or fats? They’re wrong. Protein, carb and fat ratios are important.

The correct ratios (which can vary depending on an individual’s response to food) help to stabilize blood sugar levels and increase energy and fat loss. Generally, 40-50 percent of carbohydrates, 25-30 percent protein and 20-30 percent of healthy fats is the best starting place.

Carbs are necessary for energy and aren't the enemy everyone makes them out to be. The key is how much you consume. Protein is also critical to build and retain muscle tissue, which in turn helps to burn more fat. Finally, good dietary fats are extremely important. They help to balance hormonal levels, increase strength and create satiety (fullness).

If you’re looking for a meal plan that takes all of this into account, I recommend eDiets GI plan (Glycemic Impact Diet).

5. Weight Training – To affect muscle vs. fat ratios, you have to train with weights or perform some type of resistance training. An intense weight workout lasting about 35 minutes is what I recommend for you. You don’t have to work out with a bodybuilding routine, but you do need to work the entire body approximately 2-3 nonconsecutive days per week.

6. Cardio – Cardio should be approached as a tool to lose fat. It should not be used as a neverending event in the hope that all body fat will magically burn off. Excessive cardio is counterproductive and will burn not only fat but also valuable muscle tissue.

By the way, instead of using a weighted vest, increase the intensity of your session instead. You simply don’t need the vest. Try incorporating interval cardio training (integrating slower levels of intensity for with very high levels). Intervals are great for boosting the metabolism and creating more of a post caloric burn (calories burned 24 hours after the workout).

So in your case, after a 5-minute warm up, walk very fast for 60 seconds and then reduce your speed to your current brisk intensity for 60 seconds. Keep this 60/60 interval going the entre workout but then cool down that last 10 minutes of the session. Remember though, the fast part of the walk has to be very fast. This workout burns a lot of calories.

Follow these guidelines, be consistent and you’ll see fat loss take place. I wish you the best of success in achieving your goal!

Have a fitness question you want answered? Email Raphael at askraphael@ediets.com and you could have your question picked! And if you missed a previous column, see the archive here.

Make NOW your time to do something about your weight. eDiets can help make weight loss a little easier. Let our nutritionists and fitness pros guide you! >Click here to find out more and save big!

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