Utah Body

Zuzana at Bodyrock.TV has done it again. She never ceases to amaze me with her workout routines and fit body. This time she demonstrates a 6-minute workout that will “rock you out” when you don’t have time for a complete workout.

The workout consists of 6-minutes of high-intensity interval training. The idea is to set an interval timer to beep at 10-second and 20-second intervals. The routing is as follows:

• 10 seconds of Jump Squats
• 20 seconds of Side Pike Jumps
• 10 seconds of Jump Squats
• 20 seconds of Mountain Climbers

Repeat the steps above for a total of 6 minutes. This should leave you quite exhausted, as Zuzana illustrates. I period of stretching is highly recommended after the 6-minute routine. For the real animals out there, repeat the 6-minute drill until you are satisfied (or until you wear a hole in the floor). Happy hopping!

You have exercised, dieted, prayed, cussed and you still have bulges, love handles, and other small areas of fat that simply will not go away. Spot reducing through diet and exercise is almost impossible. What is a person to do? Liposuction? Surgery? Perish the thought!

The CoolSculpting by ZELTIQ procedure claims to be able to reduce fat deposits by 20% to 40%. But, what is this new miracle?

CoolSculpting is a non-invasive procedure, developed by a team of scientists and physicians, that utilizes a precisely controlled cooling method called Cryolipolysis to cool and eliminate fat cells without damage to other tissue. During the procedure the patient and doctor target the area or areas to be treated. The doctor will then position a device on one of the target areas. The device then draws a bulge of skin and fat up between two cooling panels. As the panels go to work, the patient feels a sensation of intense cold that soon decreases. The procedure takes anywhere between one and three hours. The procedure is said to “crystallize the fat.” Over the next two to four months, the crystallized fat cells are reportedly broken down and eliminated from the body naturally.

Utah Body is intrigued! Utah Body is excited! Can it be! A non-surgical procedure for eliminating pockets of body fat that really works? Pray it is so! Perhaps our readers might share their experiences with us.

The following is a list of clinics and other places that offer CoolSculpting by ZELTIQ in Utah.

The Spa at the Utah Dermatologic & Medical Clinic
Steven Jepson, MD
Phone Number (801) 590-3836
154 Myrtle Ave Suite 102
Murray, UT 84107

Saltz Plastic Surgery & Spa Vitoria
Renato Saltz MD, FACS
Phone Number 801-274-9500
5445 S Highland Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Lone Peak Dermatology
Robert Orme, MD
Phone Number (801)783-1738
11760 S. 700 E Suite 210
Draper, UT 84020

Saltz Plastic Surgery & Spa Vitoria
Renato Saltz MD, FACS
Phone Number 435-655-6612
1820 Sidewinder Drive
Park City, UT 84068

When one considers body toning, activities such as cardio, weight-training, and a clean diet come to mind. These activities are certainly staples of a program for toning a body, however, a relatively new contender has arrived – Bikram Yoga.

Image: Stefano Valle / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Bikram Yoga is a style of yoga derived from traditional yoga styles by Bikram Choudhury and is practiced in a very hot and humid room. Beneficial claims of Bikram Yoga range from injury prevention and stress relief to delivery of fresh oxygen to joints and muscles. While these claims may or may not be true, it is certainly true that many of those who practice Bikram Yoga have experienced true loss of body fat and gained impressive body toning.

With all of the claims and good reports about Bikram Yoga circulating about, Utah Body believes that it is certainly something worth considering if you are serious about a tone and sculpted body.

Utah Body has talked with so many women lately who are desperate for a lean, strong, cut body. A surprising number of these women mentioned that they would not be completely against using steroids to reach their goals, if steroids were legal. A smaller, but still surprising, number mentioned that they had used or were currently using steroids. Most of the users turn to Anavar and/or Winstrol. The first question that Utah Body asked the group using steroids is, “Are the risks worth it to you?” The answers received were somewhat shocking.

Many women Utah Body talked with were not aware of some of the possible side effects of steroid use such as hair loss, decreased breast size, enlargement of the heart, and depression. Most did, however, mention that they experienced increased strength, leaner bodies, heightened sexual appetites, and a sense of well-being. Some of these women were over 50 years old and looked very young and their bodies looked very attractive. So, Utah Body asks your opinion, “Are the risks worth it?”

Since Utah Body is frequently on the road, I am always trying to schedule my stay in a hotel with a fitness center. We all know how hit-and-miss this can be. One thing that has always intrigued me is the possibility of a complete workout without weights; a program that can be performed in any available space such as a hotel room. This form of training is referred to by some as bodyweight fitness and several sources are now reporting techniques and exercises to with this in mind. One such source is Beast Skills.

Beast Skills illustrates exercises for sculpting your back, arms, shoulders, legs, abs, etc. without the use of weights. Some of the exercises require a bar or rope from which to hang, so a hotel room might not work for these. The body parts that are especially hard for me to sculpt without equipment are legs and butt. However, I have started doing one-legged squats and sumo squats at home and have realized some great results. Beast Skill illustrates the one-legged squats, or as they call it “The Pistol”, here.

Photo Courtesy of Beast Skills and beastskills.com

The one-legged squat shown above can be very difficult for many of you, so try the exercise with your leg pointing behind you resting on a chair or hold onto something with your hand to help you balance and to support you until you can do the exercise unassisted.

Kettlebells are currently getting a lot of attention by personal trainers, fitness instructors, and just about every fitness and body sculpting publication in print. The question is, “should women pay attention to kettlebell training?” Utah Body just finished reading a very interesting post on The Fitness Black Book:

Comments from the post that intrigued Utah Body were, “With strength comes muscle-building and with muscles comes a nice, sexy physique that you can be proud of” and ““Lift like a [real] man, feel like a goddess.”

Obviously, if a woman wants to shape and sculpt beautiful lines and curves, strength training is essential and, therefore, kettlebells can be a vital part of her workout. A great video of a kettlebell workout for a woman can be seen on The Fitness Black Book and below:

UtahBody stumbled upon a great video by Adi Amar of Yoga Today. In the video Adi walks you through some very effective movements to sculpt all aspects of your hips, butt, and upper legs. Take a look:

Utah Body attended the 2009 NPC Utah Nutrimart Classic last weekend and saw an interesting trend; softer bodies are winning the figure competitions. This trend, in the opinion of Utah Body, is happening across the NPC landscape as a whole and is a complex issue. On one hand, the softer look differentiates figure competitors from female bodybuilders. On the other hand, the softer look moves figure competitors nearer to and harder to differentiate from bikini competitors. This leaves many of the figure competitors confused after years of working so hard to get a lean, ripped physique. The competitors are now being steered towards activities and diets to make their lean, ripped bodies softer and fuller – not always easy to do while staying fit and just lean enough. One thing is for sure, the NPC Utah Classic did sport some very beautiful female bodies. Hats off to those who made it possible.

Utah Body has returned from the Weider Olympia Weekend in Vegas and I must say that it was a very interesting experience. I have never seen so many beautiful bodies so scantily clad in my life. Very nice! The men and women at the main events and at the expo have worked extremely diligently to sculpt the finest bodies in the world. At the same time, I must admit, I have never seen so many strange bodies. Body sculpting for some becomes a real wild sight. Utah Body is a tad conventional when it comes to the definition of a beautiful body – you know – toned legs, arms, butt, abs, etc. I guess beauty is not only in the eye of the beholder, but also in the eye of the sculptor. At any rate, I salute all of you!

Quercetin is receiving so much airplay lately; Utah Body can no longer ignore it. Quercetin is a flavonoid (technical name for cool antioxidant) that is derived from plants and found in some nutritional supplements. In addition to supposedly being an antioxidant, it reportedly offers a wide range of other potential health benefits, including reducing inflammation, fighting cancer, and inhibiting obesity. It is even being investigated as a possible risk-reducer of heart disease, lung cancer, prostatitis, cataracts, allergies, bronchitis, and asthma. One study even found that quercetin increased mitochondria growth which helped increase endurance in mice. Tests on humans, however, were not as conclusive (perhaps the mice need to wear little Nikes). Even Lance Armstrong is being mentioned as an advocate of quercetin and quercetin-based products. Mice and Lance…hmmm…I knew there was something different about that guy.

Quercetin can be found in foods such as capers, apples, black and green tea, red wine, red onions, tomatoes, broccoli, red grapes, citrus fruit, some leafy green vegetables, raspberries, cherries, cranberries, and others.

Utah Body is naturally cynical when it comes to a lot of new supplement claims, but this might be one that warrants a closer look. Write us with your quercetin-related experiences.