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45 articles by Sean Barker · showing 45

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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

*** The Weekend Workout

Ahh..the end of another workday. It's 5 O' clock somewhere, so you decide to sneak out a little early because as a busy dad who is committed to staying fit you are looking forward to hitting the gym for a quick workout before you head home to join your family for dinner. But before you leave the office, your wife calls you to remind you to pick up the kids from soccer practice, drop into the supermarket to get something for dinner, and to pickup her dry cleaning which is on "your way". Oh, the life of a busy dad.

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

The Perfect Diet

The Perfect Diet This makes for a great magazine headline on your nearest news stand but unfortunately you become disappointed and confused once you flip through the pages. Wether it's the magical Acai or Gogi berry one week, or the raw, cooked or frozen diet the next, it's all a marketing illusion for companies to sell you more of their stuff. So let's breakdown the Diet Dogma. The idea of a "Perfect" Diet is like chasing a moving target, and if you continue to chase this moving target you are setting yourself up for failure.

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

BBQ Tips for Dad

If you're like me you love firing up your backyard grill on those sunny summer days. Heck, I even use my BBQ year around up here in northern Canada! I just keep the snow cleared from deck with my snowblower and it's grillin and chillin time. Nothing beats food on the grill, its tasty and if you ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

10 Tips to Change Your Body

Do you want to change your body and finally get fit for life? Well, lets keep things simple. If you just followed these 10 tips on a consistent basis, you can transform your body to tip-top shape. 1. Perform cardiovascular/aerobic exercise 3-5 times a weeknn(To get a lean physique you need to ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

Top 10 Training Tools For Better Workouts

1. Under Armour Gym Bag I used the same old Adidas bag for over 10 years until I needed more room for my gear so I picked this one up at a Sport Chek store. It has room for all the gear you see, is strong and durable and matches my Under Armour shirt, shorts and socks. No I am not endorsed by them it’s simply the most comfortable workout gear which can be found at www.UnderArmour.com 2. Nike Frees Surprisingly the sneaks I wear to the gym are Nike, but for ONE reason. These aren’t your normal running shoes which is not as great as you may think for running or training.

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

3 Tips To Bust Through Your Weight Loss Plateau

Are you frustrated with your weight loss results even though you have lost some fat around your middle and your spare truck tire is now the size of a bicycle tire? Well read on to get that fat burning furnace started again. Basically what is happening when you plateau on a weight loss program ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

Watch Your Waistline - 5 Tips for Eating Out

If you are eating out a lot you are putting your waistline at risk!. Follow these 5 simple tips to eating healthy while eating at your favorite restaurants. 1. Never go to a restaurant starving! You are setting yourself up for failure right from the start. Have a quick snack before you go if ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

Dynamite Delts

If one muscle group caps off a physique more any other it has to be the deltoid muscles. A wide pair of shoulders gives that aesthetic appeal creating a V-taper while making your waist look smaller than it actually is. Any type of movement requiring the upper body uses the shoulders for ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

Get Some R&R- Rest and Recovery

It happens to us all every now and then, even the most passionate of trainers. We reach a point in your training when we lack motivation to train, eat right, we feel tired or come down with the flu... These are usually the symptoms of over training or lack of recovery. But it is not always ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

The Best Food For Building Muscle and Burning Fat

Do you want to know the one food that has all you need to build lean muscle and burn bodyfat? Oh yeah and it tastes great and is easy to prepare! Your mother always told you to "eat your breakfast", it's the most important meal of the day!" Well, your Mom was right... again Just think of the word Break-Fast for a minute. You are breaking the fast of going all night without eating and get this... eating breakfast is a daily habit for the people who belong to The National Weight Control Registry.

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

Snack Tips to Burn Fat

If you want to melt off that belly fat, you have to feed the fire. Here are some easy snack tips to keep your metabolism high and your body burning fat during the day. Here is the easiest way to keep yourself on track to eat healthy during those busy days. Just look at your hand! That's right, ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

Consistency is the Key to Fitness

This article not only applies to achieving your body shaping goals but it also shows how if affects your whole life. To make progress in the gym you have to focus on consistency. No matter how good your current training program may be or how perfect a diet your have planned to follow, none it ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

***Awesome Abs for Fit Fathers

With Father's Day just around the corner the best gift you can give yourself as a busy dad is a set of rock hard abs. ...and it's not to just look good at the beach with your family this summer. It's also nice to be the fittest dad at your kid's soccer practice who can actually join them on the field instead of sitting on the bleachers glued to your Blackberry. Start thinking of your abs as the barometer of your health. If you have lean rock hard abs it lowers your risk of life threatening and chronic diseases as well as show's you are doing your part in the kitchen and in the gym.r

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

The Best Way To Lose Weight

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step..."If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". "Knowledge is power." Inspirational quotes are great for motivation but they will do nothing for you if you don't take action!

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

How to Build a Home Gym on a Budget

You don't need to buy an expensive gym membership so you can use all those complicated machines to get in shape. People were building muscle and burning fat long before any of those strange looking machines were invented. You don't need to buy an expensive gym membership so you can use all ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

The World's Smartest Workout

E=mc² You might remember this from your old high school math class. It was Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Despite Einstein's well known brilliance, what amazes me even more was he was also a busy dad of 3 kids. Einstein was known for challenging the status quo and I think if he was alive today he would tell us busy dads who continue to waste time on long boring workouts that leave us even more exhausted to smarten up and fly right! So let's do the math... A typical workout may look like this. Pushups, 3 sets of 12-15 reps, rest 60 secsr Deadlifts, 3 sets of 6-8

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

*** The Secret to Quick Workouts

Would you love to get more results with your workouts in less time? Of course you would. Read on to find out the best way to supercharge your workout routine. The best way to supercharge your workouts is with SUPERSETS. There are different ways to superset exercises, but basically it means ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

5 Ways To Lose Fat Fast

If you are getting too comfortable with your workout routine, the key is to try to get better every day with your workouts and your healthy eating. So here are 5 Ways For Faster Fat Loss. 1. Break Records Push for progress and not perfection and challenge yourself by pushing for one extra rep or a couple more pounds every week in your workouts. Use the smallest plates you have available, (usually 2.5lbs) to keep stimulating fat burning muscle. 2. Fun Food Experiment with a different fruit or vegetable each week by eating the colors of the rainbow.

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

***The 7 BIGGEST Workout Mistakes

Do you want to know the biggest mistake I continue to see guys doing in the gym? They train like bodybuilders...when they should be training like athletes. The majority of guys in the gym are "regular Joe's" with busy jobs and families where they are not required to get up on stage in a speedo sporting the bodyfat levels of a jack rabbit.

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

Armed and Dangerous - Arm Workout

Along with getting a big chest, most men who start weight training want big arms. Also, one of the main trouble spots for women is the back of the arm, the tricep muscle.nnf you ask someone to show you their muscles they will usually roll up their sleeve and flex their bicep. But what most ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

Post-Workout is the Time For Building Muscle

Your body is like a sponge after a hard workout. Most nutrients you consume get soaked up by your body for energy replenishment and muscle repair. To maximize muscle glycogen stores, carbohydrate rich foods should be consumed immediately after exercising. To maximize muscle glycogen stores, ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

5 Exercises You Shouldn't Be Doing

Old habits are hard to break. But if you keep doing these 5 old school exercises you will be breaking more than old habits. 1. Leg extensions - Unfortunately this exercise seems to be the extent of most guys leg training. Probably because sitting down and pumping out reps of quad extensions ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

Time to Set Goals - Get Out Your Checklist

If you are going to set out to accomplish something with an end result in mind, you need a plan and you need to set goals. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail! If you want to make a certain dish, you follow a recipe. If you are going to construct a building, you follow a blueprint. A plan ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

How to Train Your Abs

This article will give you the truth to achieving awesome abs to show off during the summer months. There are three main points to consider to achieve awesome abdominals. 1. Abdominal training 2. Diet 3. Cardiovascular exercise This article will focus on number one, abdominal training. Once ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

3 Simple Steps To Building Maximum Muscle

Even with today's technology, everything is still not completely understood on what causes muscle growth. There are actually a whole series of biological processes that are triggered after hard, heavy weight training. Despite all the advances in medical science and human kinetics, the most effective and the most practical advice to building rock solid muscle can be found in the lifters of the past. Here are the 3 simple steps to building maximum muscle that have survived for generations to build better bodies. 1.

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

5 New Ways to Workout

It's time to stop being a workout slave to your old school workout routines and time to break away from the crowd by doing the opposite of what they are doing. The results just might surprise you. The idea of these workout tips came to me while watching one of the classic episodes of Seinfeld, ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

5 Foods Men Should Be Eating

You may think you're eating healthy. But are you eating these 5 must have foods for men? These 5 foods will make sure you are on your way to living a long and healthy life so you can be the strong dad you need to be to keep up with your family. 1. Tomatoes - This plump red FRUIT provides a ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

5 Easy Diet Tips That You Can Use Today

1. Smart Sandwichr Hold the mayo in your next tuna or egg sandwich and use plain yogurt instead. With protein and probiotics, the yogurt is a lot better for you and you can hardly taste the difference. 2. Go Nutsr Show your heart some love when snacking and reach for a handful of healthy mixed nuts instead of artery clogging potato chips. The protein, fiber and goods fats will keep you full longer and your hand out of the bag. 3. Check Your Oilr Don't turn a good oil bad.

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

*** What Your Kids Can Teach You About Exercise

When it comes to teaching our kids new things, we as parents are pretty confident that we have a handle on teaching them good habits. As the saying goes "with age comes wisdom" so as we get more years under our parenting belt we all become our own parenting experts, right? But when it comes to exercise maybe it's time we look to our little leaguers for some expert workout advice...and the younger they are the more we can learn. That's because as we grow and develop from young infants to hard headed adults we begin to lose our mobility for natural movements due to inactivity and bad ha

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

7 Secrets to Better Workouts

If your workouts seem to be getting you nowhere, read on to get the 7 Secrets To Better Workouts. 1. Start your engines. As your old high school gym teacher might have led you to believe, stretching before weight training is not the best way to warm-up. 1. Start your engines As your old high ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

Eat Well to Feel Well

Eat well to feel well. Sounds like a pretty simple formula doesn't it? I firmly believe people continue to underestimate the vital importance of proper nutrition. If you want to look a certain way, you have to eat a certain way, it really is that simple. Especially if building lean muscle mass ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

The Barbell Belly Blaster Workout

If you are lucky enough to have an Olympic Barbell in your home gym, you can also do this workout without ever leaving your house. This is primarily a fat loss workout as it elevates your heart rate while supersetting exercises using your bodies major muscles. But by using your major muscles ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

What Causes Muscle Growth?

Even with today's technology, everything is still not completely understood on what causes muscle growth. There are actually a whole series of biological processes that are triggered after hard, heavy weight training. These processes work together to repair the muscle fiber and produce an ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

***The Top 10 Tips For a Healthy Holiday

1. Get Real Once Christmas Eve hits forget about LOSING weight for the next few weeks and focus on GAINING some quality time with your family and friends. Wether its the numbers on the bar or the numbers on the scale you need a mental break as well as a physical break from all those ball busting efforts with the weights. Get in as many short workouts as you can during the 12 days of Christmas and get back on track come January 5th. 2. Fit Finances Most of our pockets took a hard hit from the economy this year so make sure to create a holiday shopping budget that you can stick to.

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

Healthy Food Ideas to Stay Fit

If your training hard in the gym and looking to build muscle, lose body fat, or all of the above; you realize how important it is to feed your body the right healthy food at the right times. Then people say, "I don't have time to cook 4-6 times a day!" Well, with the right amount of planning, ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

How to Lose Fat Fast After Vacation

Do you worry what to do with your healthy living routine when you go on vacation. I just returned from a 2 week summer holiday with my family. After eating whatever I wanted and not exercising for 2 weeks I probably shattered every health and fitness commandment. But you won't see me doing the "cardio confessional" slaving on the treadmill feeling the food guilt for the rest of the summer. After years of sticking to my fitness routine I have a plan that allows me to enjoy my vacations and get back on track the minute I throw the luggage back in the house.

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

Are You Sick of Getting Sick?

Don't you hate it when your training seems to be going great and boom; it hits you, chills, fever, achy joints, runny nose, cough etc. As diligent as you are with your diet and taking your vitamins you come down with the flu and get sick. The best thing to do is to bite the bullet and get ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

5 Ways to Spring Clean Your Workout

With the sun hanging in the sky a little longer it naturally gives you more energy to do some spring cleaning inside and outside the house. Just opening up all the windows in your house after the long winter months will awaken your senses with fresh new energy. So it’s time to spring ahead with your workouts as well and clean up some of the bad training habits that you may have picked up during the winter... 1. Watch Your Watch

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

The Best Way to Relieve Muscle Soreness

We have all experienced this one time or another, muscle soreness or what the exercise geeks (me included) refer to as DOMS. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness... This can occur whether you have been working out for years or are just starting to exercise. Muscle soreness usually peaks in 48 hours ...

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

3 New Ways To Lose Fat Fast This Summer

These maybe the dog days of summer but it doesn't mean you should be laying around the house like your favorite pooch. So here are 3 new fat loss strategies that I followed this summer that allowed me to get leaner and stronger without the effort of dieting or doing long boring cardio. 1. Fat For Fuel

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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By Sean BarkerRecently published1 topic

***5 Tips To Stay Fit While Traveling

After a recent trip to Tampa, Florida attending fitness seminars for 5 days and hanging out with guys like Craig Ballantyne of Men’s Health magazine and fitness ico Shawn Phillips, I started to pick up on some of the secrets these guys use to stay in awesome shape even while traveling. 1. Workout No Matter What. After a busy 5 days of sitting on my butt in meetings and seminars I still managed to workout 4 out of the 5 days while in Florida.

Primary topic: Fitness and Exercise
Fitness and Exercise
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