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Coconut water may not sound like the manliest type of fitness beverage, but it is producing very “manly” results. It’s hard to ignore the newfound prevalence of coconut water in the fitness industry. Even the most casual observer can see that it’s cropping up everywhere from Green Food Co-Ops to your gas station reach-in fridge.

Many people have a bad taste in their mouths (literally and figuratively) about the current state of “sports” drinks like Gatorade and Powerade. They have been found time and again to just be glorified sugar water and can potentially set back your fitness goals, rather than help you achieve them. Coconut water is a solid replacement for sugary sports drinks that will help you keep going on the field and help you keep your waistline in check.

What is good about coconut water?

Running is a wonderful way to burn calories, increase your endurance, and just generally get into much better shape. However, this exercise isn’t without its downsides.

One of the big negatives of running is the strong impact it can have on your sensitive joints. Your foot is constantly hitting the surface, usually a hard one like asphalt, and each time it hits, your joints take a beating. Over time, putting all of this strain on your joints can lead to serious health problems like arthritis, knee injuries, and just overall pain. Eventually, these types of problems could cause you to have to give up running altogether.

Building muscle, gaining fat, and even losing weight all seem to be easier than achieving stunning muscle definition that gives you that coveted “cut” look. Whether you’re a “hard-gainer” and find it difficult to put on weight, an overweight individual trying to slim down, or an athlete who would like to be less bulky and more defined, the following five tips should help you achieve better muscle definition.

Increase Repetitions

First, you need to stop focusing on lifting heavy weight and start focusing on doing more reps with lighter weights. A good rule of thumb is to only use weights that you can comfortably do sets of 20 with. If you can’t get to 20 repetitions several times in one workout then decrease the weight. To put on muscle that is bulkier and stronger, but less defined, simply increase the weight and do 8-12 reps each time. Once you’ve gotten “ripped” you can incorporate heavier weights into your regimen to add mass while retaining definition.

Pregnancy can be a difficult time. As well as hormonal and physical changes occurring, many women also struggle with their appetites. It's different for everyone, but the sickness and dehydration typically associated with the first trimester can cause a loss of appetite for some women. However, as the baby grows and develops, the food cravings can start and, especially for those who are usually very active, many women find that they eat more as the pregnancy affects their mobility and energy levels.

Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet during this period is vital for both mother and baby, and some types of food should be avoided.

Raw or Undercooked Eggs and Meat

Raw or undercooked eggs carry the risk of salmonella, a dangerous form of food poisoning. This can cause vomiting, nausea, dehydration and diarrhoea, and the shock on the body can even cause preterm labour. Raw eggs can be more common than most people realise, as it is found in the likes of cookie and cake batters, salad dressings and some improperly cooked meals, like egg fried rice.

Vince Gironda was old school before old school existed. He was an innovator in the bodybuilding world and was given the name the 'Iron Guru'. During his time as a gym owner and trainer he was more well-known than anyone for churning out great physiques from his Hollywood gym.

How did he achieve this? In some cases it was the pure genius of exercises he used and what some thought of as bizarre training methods.

Photo: Vince Gironda - best trainer ever

The man himself was a form of inspiration because he sculpted his own body to look a certain way for maximum visual appeal. By the same token, when he had people do exercises it was for a certain reason. Similarly, when he had people not do exercises it was to avoid a certain result.

This style of lifting is purely for looks such as bodybuilding and not athletic pursuits. But, if your goal is to look better then check out these great exercises the master used to mold people's physiques.

Delicious toppings and gooey, cheesy goodness make pizza one of my favorite foods of all time. With all the possible toppings that a pizza can have, it's definitely not a boring food. But when I'm dieting, I try to avoid eating pizzas because of the carbohydrate content.

Sometimes, however, I succumb to this yummy temptation, and my efforts to lose weight go down the drain. Still, because I love pizza and I need to diet, I figured that I had to come up with a food plan.

Maybe there are healthier pizzas out there? What about toppings? Maybe, by opting for more nutritious toppings, I could more or less stick to my diet regime. Luckily, deciding on pizza toppings is not an exact science. Rather, it's an exciting adventure wherein you can truly explore your preferences.

In my quest to discover healthier pizzas, I found out a few things about toppings. Let's see what food items are actually good to have on top of a pizza.

Once in a while, you have the penchant for cleaning your cubicle or workspace, but unless the rest of your office is germ-free, you are most likely carrying another person's microbes back to your desk.

Have you ever wondered how cough and colds get around your office? Cough and colds spread in the office because you and your co-workers are carrying loads of bacteria and germs with you. For this reason, a lot of studies suggest giving an elevator button or the bathroom faucet a good cleaning first before actually using it.

While coexisting with microbes and germs is a natural and sometimes necessary part of life, there are still germs that can cause viruses and diseases. It is vital to be aware of the hotspot for germs in your office to avoid carrying the germs with you.

People say that eating healthy is difficult because these nutritious foods are so much more expensive than the unhealthy ones. While this might be true for certain products, there are certainly ways in which you can eat healthy on even the tightest of budgets.

In Season Produce

When food is in short supply, the prices are obviously going to go up. Stock up on fruits and vegetables when they are in season so that you do not have to pay extra high prices. As the seasons change, so will the vegetables. You'll be able to taste a whole new array of foods without burning a major hole in your wallet.

One of the biggest pieces of advice I give to guys when they announce that they are soon going to be a father; exercise hard now. More often than not I get a funny look and a lack of understanding. Its okay, I have been there. But then I have also been where they will be in about ten months.

Being a new parent is hard. Aside from learning all of these new things and an increased level of responsibility for the new person you have brought into the world, your schedule takes a complete 180 flip and free time quickly becomes a thing of the past. Sleepless nights, vending machine lunches because you forgot to go shopping, and a million other things completely destroy most people's semblance of a healthy lifestyle.

You have to cut back on parts of your life because suddenly you just don't have the time or energy. Often times one of the first things that get shoved off to the side is health and fitness goals. Honestly it takes a while for things to shift into a comfortable new schedule that works for both you and your spouse. Plus usually people are so tired most of the time in the beginning that sleep sounds a lot better than the gym.

So what can you do to get ahead of the curve and try and keep yourself in shape?

Everyone knows the basic rule for size; go heavy or go home! It is a mantra touted by everyone because for the most part it is true. Fast-twitch muscle fibers are worked during explosive movements. Using heavy weight in exercises for slow reps is a key to building up these fibers. Plus they have a much greater capacity for growth than their slow-twitch counterparts that are used primarily in endurance activities.

But that doesn't mean they don't grow at all.

Any Growth is Useful

If your overall goal is to gain muscle size along with strength should you be overly picky exactly where that size comes from? We aren't talking about bulking up your entire body with excess fat to look bigger, but actually increasing the size of your muscles. Imagine the potential for growth in your muscle is like a long balloon. Blow it up to about 70 percent capacity. That is about as big as it is going to get from working just your fast-twitch fibers. Now blow it up the rest of the way. That extra bit is size gained from working the slow-twitch fibers as well.