The ezPalm Blog

When you’ve got a busy schedule crammed full of meetings and
work, you don’t have time to mess around with your workout. You
want to get the best results possible for the time you invest -
the good news is that you can get extra benefits with just a few
simple changes to your workout!

Keep proper form.

One of the most common mistakes in exercise is not maintaining
the right form during the workout. Bad form can lead to muscle
pain and stiffness but, more importantly, bad form prevents you
from burning as many calories as you normally would. Maintain
good posture during exercise and you’ll build more muscle faster!

Take giant steps.

During your cardio workout, take deep, wide steps to shape up
your thighs and buttocks. By taking a larger step than normal,
you require more effort from your muscles - more effort equals
more strength and shapeliness. Short, shallow steps don’t place
enough stress on the muscle to produce fast results, but when
you change to bigger movements, you start to see serious muscle
taking shape. The same concept is true for running as well:
runners who take long, deep strides burn more calories and cover
more distance than short-striders.

Listen to your breath

During a cardio workout, check your breathing to see how hard
you’re truly working. If you can carry on a conversation with
ease, it’s time to increase intensity. How to know when you’re
at the right level? The general rule of thumb is that when you
can sing the national anthem but need a breath after every
phrase, you’re most likely at the appropriate level for your
needs. You should never work out so hard that you can’t talk or
begin to feel faint.

Double up your workouts.

Add weights to your cardio routine (or vice versa) and you can
start to see results within three weeks! You really see the best
of both worlds by using interval training. Interval training is
highly effective because you introduce your body to a new
challenge every five minutes or so. Traditional cardiovascular
exercises focus on building aerobic capacity while weightlifting
concentrates on increasing muscle strength. Combining the two
into one interval training workout means you get benefits from
both!

Add variety.

The fastest way to become disillusioned with your workout is to
do the same thing over and over again, plus your body can become
conditioned to the movements and fail to burn as many calories
as you would like. Avoid all this by surprising your body with
new and different challenges at least once a week. If you
typically run several times during the week, try hiking at a
nearby park. If you’re a Spinning devotee, take a Pilates class
instead. The ultimate switch-up for most exercisers is swimming:
an exercise that requires much more aerobic and muscle strength
that imagined. Do a few laps in the pool and you’ll see what I
mean.

Challenge yourself.

Set a goal for yourself every week that is beyond your normal
effort. Try lifting weights that are five pounds heavier than
you normally use, or walking three miles daily rather than two.
Small goals like this are easily attainable and can make big
changes in the results you see from your workout.

Introduce yourself to stretching.

Stretching is sometimes the crazy uncle of the exercise family -
nobody really wants to talk about it, but the fact is stretching
is key to getting more out of your workout. Stretching assists
in muscle recovery from strenuous workouts and can prevent
soreness that might stop you from working out. Your entire body
feels more comfortable when you have strong, flexible muscles.
Spending a few minutes when you wake up and again before and
after your workout really add up in terms of flexibility.

Don’t exercise on an empty stomach.

Sure, it may seem efficient to work out when you haven’t eaten
in hours but in reality it’s a bad decision. When your body’s
fuel supply is low, you start feeling sluggish and slow -
definitely not the ideal mood for a productive workout. An empty
stomach does not equal more calories burned.

Snacks, not meals, provide the best fuel.

After dining at the all-you-can-eat buffet, you may feel like
you should work out just to compensate for overeating, but don’t
do it. Exercising on a full stomach can lead to cramps, upset
stomach, and/or diarrhea because your body is trying to digest
the meal and also provide you with energy at the same time. The
best way to fuel your body without nasty side effects is to have
a small snack 15 to 30 minutes before you exercise. Ideal snacks
include foods with adequate carbohydrates: bread, cereals, and
rice.

Drink plenty of water.

You’ve heard it over and over, but it really is true: water will
help you lose weight. Water helps fill your stomach to stop
hunger pangs and keeps you alert throughout the day. When you
become dehydrated, your entire body slows down and works much
less efficiently. Working out causes you to lose hydration
through sweat, so it’s important to replace lost water after a
workout.

We all run short on time these days but by incorporating one or
more of these simple strategies you can maximize your workout
time and see fantastic results fast!

Muhammad, my beloved son,

I was truly delighted beyond words when I called you this
afternoon. It has been 10 full moons since I left you and your
brother Omar in The Gambia (West Africa) to set sail for the USA
in search of knowledge. Many are the nights and days when I
think about you and miss you so badly. But today it was like you
are right here in front of me. I could see the joy marked on
your innocent face as you sang me the following lines:

Twinkle twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky

My son, words would never be sufficient in describing the joy I
got from hearing your melodious voice chant out the very rhyme I
sang some two score and 5 years ago. Indeed you are in grade one
at an age much younger than I started grade school but I am very
proud at your progress.

Son I want to share with you, nay with all children, black white
or brown, the promise that is so gingerly held in the rhyme you
sang for me. Now listen for I shall tell you something that if
you will hold on to tenaciously, success will be yours now and
forever. Both in this world and in the hereafter by the grace of
the Almighty God who has made you and me and the entire
universe.

Muhammad, that star that you wonder about in that rhyme is
none but YOU. YOU are that star that is up above the world so
high. You are born a star, and you shall continue to rise as a
star. Every child is born a star. It is us the elderly
generation, who in our intelligent ignorance flood your minds
with all sorts of negative thinking and self-destructive habits.
We are the ones who tell you everything that you cannot do. We
are the ones who destroy your self-esteem and self-confidence
before you take your first step into the world.

Yet believe me whatever I or anyone else teaches you that is
contrary to being that star can indeed be unlearnt. But now
that you are still a child innocent and full of hope, you must
grow up always remembering that you are (to put it in your mum’s
poetic verses)
full of blond means,
not without dreams

You are that giant star hanging out there in the sky waiting to
be full blown when you come of age. In the Desiderata you are
told this great fact. Consider the author to be speaking
directly to YOU; yes no one but YOU my son. Says the great mind

you are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the
stars. You have a right to be here.

Yes, you heard it right son, what the author says is indeed true
for you are no less than the trees and the stars. So just in
case you think I am throwing nice words to you because you are
my son. Now you’ve heard it from someone who knows you not. You
are truly that star twinkling up above the world so high, like
a diamond in the sky.

You did tell me during today’s conversation that French soccer
hero Zinedine Zidane is your star as you watch this year’s world
cup.

Now let me tell you how zidane came to be the world star that he
is. He first looked for what makes him happy and found the
answer in soccer. The multi-talented star who, I understand is
also a karate star, focused on soccer and the rest, as they say,
is history. A summary of Zidane’s philosophy could be found in
his own words. On the occasion of his debut match for Cannes
football club in 1989, zidane’s said this:

I discovered that the passion of my life was football and, I
thought I could go far through work, responsibility and
perseverance.

And now my dear son, I will give you the words of our national kora
musical star Jaliba Kuyateh who sang a great song for children.
Hold on to these words and move on in your journey to stardom!

A jouney of a thousand kilometres starts with a step, so take
your step children
Leading to your paradise
Leading to your paradise…

God bless you my beloved son, you and all the children of this
world, white black or brown, you are all stars. So be the star
that you are born to be.”

ACTIVE AFFILIATES are those who sign up under you for free, then upgrade to being a paid affiliate. Those who sign up but don’t upgrade within the first 72 hours are called inactive affiliates and who are unlikely to ever upgrade.

These are people you DON’T invest a lot of time on. You can send them out your monthly ezine but that’s as far as invested time should go.

Those who have paid to upgrade from free or just looking stage are the ones you should have regular contact in.

When I mention contact, I don’t mean contact to sell more things to them, but to offer support, advise, training etc. because these are the ones that will follow you to the ends of the earth if you ask them to, if you treat them right.

Over the past 12 months I have been testing various options and theories of Affiliates who sign up for free and then become paid upgrade affiliates.

My findings although not scientific by any means has shown me that in order for ACTIVE AFFILIATES to create direct sales, they must have the right affiliate program to promote.

I’ve explained previously that a great affiliate program is one that is an absolute necessity, a program that will force the buyer to have to start over again if they left your services i.e. web hosting, autoresponders.

According to the search engines there are over 2 million Affiliate Programs for web hosting and over 1 Million for autoresponder affiliate programs. What about domain name affiliate programs, can you think of any others…I’m sure you can! Think necessity.

My findings also identified that a great affiliate program MUST be free to join. This gives the prospective buyer the opportunity to test-drive the product before they buy.

OK, now down to the nitty gritty - where and how do you get ACTIVE AFFILIATES?

There are essentially two ways, they are:

1. Promote, promote, promote - anywhere, everywhere that affiliates hang out looking for a bargain.

2. Get a professional to do it for you

Options one is the most commonly used way to find and ascertain ACTIVE AFFILIATES but my findings have shown me that this is not cost effective and is all time consuming. If you are new to the Internet, which most people are, trying to find a niche market, can be very difficult. Then you have to factor the cost of the promotions, set-up costs and time involved.

In testing this method over a period of 6 months a total of 17 people sign up as affiliate’s and two out of the 17 people then upgraded to paid members.

Option two and not the most common or conventional way was to hire someone who could guarantee upgrades. This you might think is the more expensive option, when in actual fact for the purpose of my testing actually worked out to be a lot cheaper. The provider handled all the work and the affiliate had to qualified twice before actually joining the program all I had to do was wait.

I brought a package that guaranteed 100 signup in 60 days. I got 174 sign ups in less than 60 days. 81 of these signups upgraded to paid affiliates that equates to just over 40% conversion rate.

I try to stay neutral in all my endeavours but I believe that for those who want to Generate More Income in ANY affiliate program, option two is definitely the way to go. I was so impressed by this type of service I decided to buy one for myself.

To your online Success!

About the Author: Gillian Tarawhiti, is Founder and CEO of Community Training Centre, an Internet Marketing firm providing Online Training and Support to the new and not so new netpreneurs. Gillian is also the author of eBay Billion Dollar Goldmine and the creator of the Multiple Ripple Effect System, © 2004 Permission is granted to reprint this article in print or on your web site so long as the paragraph above is included and contact information is provided to http://www.millionairerippleeffect.com