Great Marathon Training Plan

First off when it comes to marathon running and training you need to know a few things.

# 1 - A marathon is a 26.2 mile run. Notice that I said run! Yes, after reading this article and getting your marathon training plan you will be able to accomplish your dreams and run a full 26.2 mile marathon!

# 2 - You must be committed! Anyone can write their name down to run a marathon and lolli-gag their way through training. However they most likely won't finish the race. But if you are disciplined enough to push your self through months of training then you most definitely will finish the race and in good time. As a side note I hope you noticed that I said you will be training for months. Months of training is what it takes to run a marathon.
I believe anyone can run a marathon if they follow a marathon training plan and start off their training with a certain base of strength and endurance. A good base test would be: Can you run a mile without stopping? If you can, then great! Get started on your marathon training with a training plan.

One question that many skeptics have of on-line marathon training plans is: How hard will this program push me? Many people are worried of over working themselves and some are even worried of not training hard enough and having to face the agony of failing on a marathon. Well I only have one answer to this. You will only work as hard as you push yourself it's as simple as that.

Many people also have expressed their concern for some of the techniques that online marathon training plans use. Obviously their are many different ways to train for a marathon but their are few great ways that have shown great success many times. One of these marathon trainin g plans is one created by an Olympic runner himself, Marius Bakken you can view his program by clicking on the link below.

If you are ready to start training for a marathon on a marathon training plan then go to the link below but you need to have the following things to start training:

- Proper marathon running apparel
- Proper marathon running shoes
- A marathon training plan
- The heart and desire to succeed

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The Perfect Marathon Pacing Formula

I have run 15 marathons and finding the perfect pace has always been a problem. I believe that I have a formula for marathon pacing that works. I will explain how to calculate your pace using a heart rate monitor.

The major problem running marathons for me has always been starting out either too fast or too slow. When I start out too fast, by mile 18 I am in serious trouble. With eight miles to go and my body in bad shape things get real ugly. When I start too slow by mile thirteen my legs will usually not respond to the faster paced. I believe this happens because as the legs become tired your stride length and turnover will not increase to a faster pace.

To determine your marathon pace run a half marathon at your best effort during the first week of your marathon training program. Wear a heart rate monitor during the half marathon and record your average heart rate of the entire race. By subtracting 5 beats from this number you will know your m arathon pace heart rate.
Example: average heart rate of 150bpm - 5bpm = marathon pace heart rate of 145bpm

Training at this heart rate once a week during your marathon buildup you will learn to run at marathon pace and the correct effort. Start your marathon pace runs at 5 miles and build up to 15 or 20 miles in length.
Your long runs can be used as marathon pace runs as well. Every other week running a long run and adding marathon pace to the second half will improve you fitness tremendously. Once a month use one of your long runs exclusively as a marathon pace run. After a longer marathon pace run over 15 miles use the next week to recover.

At the midpoint of your marathon training run another half marathon and record your average heart rate. Doing this will allow you to monitor any changes in your average heart rate. If your average heart rate increases or stays the same you will know that your training is going well. If your average heart rate goes down , you will have an indication of over training.

As your marathon race date approaches run a half marathon at your best effort three weeks before race day. Use a heart rate monitor during the race to record the average heart rate of the entire race. After the race is over save this number for future reference. Take the average heart rate of your half marathon and subtract five beats from it. This number will be the maximum heart rate for running you're upcoming marathon.

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How does Acai Berry Works for weight loss?

Here is the real deal: when you take acai based supplements like Acai Berry Detox, you will not lose pounds in a heartbeat. That would be impossible indeed. Despite what the popular concept is, Acai Berry Detox and other similar products are not the miracle cures to unsightly pounds or obesity.

Rather, it is a tool that will make you achieve better health through gradual weight loss. And gradual weight loss can only be achieved by the right combination of diet, exercise and the right dosage of food supplements like acai based products. Many people would not want to hear the words "diet" and "exercise" but these are still the main components of weight loss. Food supplements that promote weight loss are aides in order for the person get to his or her target weight.

Acai And Weight Loss

Acai berries can help a person achieve weight loss by contributing its one most attractive property into the mix: that of providing high levels of antioxidants into the bloodstream. As many of you know, antioxidants can help eradicate free radicals in the body. These free radicals are of course essential in human development since these promote natural cell renewal. And natural cell renewal can be achieved by letting cells decay so that these can be replaced. Unfortunately, some cells decay too fast that other "new" cells have yet to be developed; or decay too slowly that others cells are affected. Here is where antioxidants step in. Antioxidants help scavenge off some or most of the free radicals that cause cell decay so that the body has time to develop the new cells that can replace them. At the same time, it can promote faster cell regeneration by providing the body a balance between decaying cells and emerging cells. Once balance is achieved, the body basically return s or goes to a better state where the body can burn up as much calories as it should and "process" them properly.

This is essentially why a healthy supply of antioxidants from food supplements like Acai Berry Detox can also help make the skin look younger, the muscles feel tighter and the person's energy level higher. Acai berries also provide essential amino acids, a good source of carbohydrates and fibers, healthy fatty acids, and phytosterols which can speed up the metabolism considerably. This makes detoxification of impurities from the system move much faster. Fiber, as is known, can help move bowel wastes very quickly - but it also means that the body is processing the nutrients at a faster rate. In turn, the body quickly assimilates those nutrients and turns these into calories or caloric energy. This is where people claim that drinking acai berry juice or ingesting acai based food supplements actually gives them a boost of energy.

That boost of energy, if you really want to harness it properly, is essential for a healthier lifestyle. That can be used to promote more regular exercises that can speed up the fat burning process. The better part of this deal is: the more you exercise, the better your muscle can burn off unwanted fat, so that you can expend energy even while you are resting.

Acai berry detox is a special weight loss supplement which has helped millions of individuals' loose extra pounds of body fat with ease. The acai berry detox version is also considered to be the # 1 'fat burner' in the entire world. Well, here is what it actually means.

1. It Is A Super Food

The acai berry detox weight loss supplement is known as the # 1 'super food' in the entire world. This title has been given to the acai supplement by leading health researchers across the globe. One of the main reasons why people term it the # 1 'super food' is because the acai berries are fortified with essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients that are found no where else.

2. It Detoxifies The Body

One of the main reasons why people term it as a detox supplement is because it naturally detoxifies the human body. This is made possible by the active ingredients that are present in the acai berries supplement. The rare antioxidants present in the acai fruit flush out all the harmful toxins from within a human body and make it disinfected from within.

The acai berry detox supplement is considered to be the most effective weight loss supplement in the entire world. Even when I started using the acai detox supplement, I had serious doubts regarding its effectiveness. But when I lost 32 pounds of fat, I was convinced that it was indeed a miracle fat loss formula which each and every obese individual should use.

There are so many diets being offered today that it has become increasingly harder to find which one is any good and even more difficult, which one to really trust will work. One of the latest to be included is the acai berry diet that has testimonials claiming very difficult to digest weight loss stories. I don't believe most of this over-glorified acai berry hype and furthermore would go as far as saying that by taking acai alone will not give these types of results, as they are just advertising artists trying to sell, sell, sell.

Relying on just any diet pill or supplement alone is very bad practice and can lead to more problems such as a inactivity, laziness, and frustration. It is extremely important to understand that to lose weight effectively you have to eat sensibly and have a regular exercise routine to not only get results but to keep your body healthy. You have to find a proper program to lose weight and and keep it off that doesn't rely on just popping a pill that is usually packed with Epedra, caffeine or other harmful stimulants. Therefore, in this article I have laid out a simple and exceptionally powerful method that will accelerate the process and will leave in great shape doing it.

A Method That Combines Exercise, Diet, And Acai Berry Diet

1. Exercise will need to be done 3 to 5 days a week, of course the more the better, but you really don't need to kill yourself doing cardio five days a week and damage your joints with the repetitive motion. You need to exercise correctly, and NOT just focus on cardio alone which will only give mediocre results.

Sixty to Seventy percent of your workouts should be a combination of both heavier weights (heavy enough for about 8 reps) and some type of 40 to 60 second sprints (anything from running sprints to fast punching). This type of interval training is vital in this method because it helps boost your metabolism which not only helps burn calories while exercising but also but also when you are at rest. You will actually be burning calories effectively while relaxing, watching TV, or being inactive.

This effect from interval training is based on new scientific evidence that states it will burn 2 to 3 times more calories over other conventional exercises methods. However, don't forget to do your other workout routines the remainder 30 to 40 percent of the time, because doing the interval training alone will be to taxing on the body. Moderation is your friend.

2. Maintain a simple robust diet that doesn't have to be too strict and causes a multitude of problems down the road. A strict diet would be completely counterproductive and does nothing but frustrate you and leave you feeling ill with no energy left to work out. Remember you want to have energy to exercise so you can turn your own body into a fat burning machine. This is the key to losing weight effectively and KEEPING IT OFF.

My suggestion would be a simple 40/40/ 20 diet. This is a popular diet that incorporate 40 % carbohydrates, 40 % protein, and 20 % healthy fats. Also, increase the fiber in your diet, eat more vegetables and try to abstain from consuming too much alcohol. In addition, make it a habit to not eat very late at night and of course get plenty of sleep.

3. Begin a very simple acai berry diet. This means taking an acai supplement once a day and adhering to it. This is where acai can really shine and where I truly believe you can gain the most effect using acai. This puts this weight loss process into overdrive and creates a synergistic effect when combined with the other two parts. Once your new healthy body starts getting used to the acai, you will literally see the pounds melt right off you.

Not only does acai cleanse your body to help you lose weight, but it also has incredible health benefits and contains nutritional value that most other weight loss supplements do not have. This is why acai is the choice over all of the other weight loss supplements. Of course, many of the other supplement will initially help you lose weight, but they will cause your body a multitude of problems that have been very well documented.

Like mentioned above, you don't want to rely on just one supplement alone. What you want to do is turn your body into a healthy fat burning machine, maintain a sensible diet, and start a simple acai berry diet to blast the fat burning process into high gear and leave in great shape.

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Yoga Retreats And Yoga Teacher Training Courses Nepal

Yoga is a traditional practice of mental and physical discipline that originated in Nepal and North India that has become very popular worldwide, especially in recent times now that western people are more open minded towards Eastern meditative practices. Though yoga workshops can now be taken in almost every city in Europe and America, for many die hard yoga practicers a yoga retreat in Nepal amongst the majestic Himalayas is the ultimate yoga experience thats not to be missed. An Everest yoga retreat really is something special.

Kathmandu Valley, Nepal is home to a large number of yoga retreats, yoga workshops, ashrams and wellness centres, offering a large choice of yoga styles, holistic nutrition, and also yoga TTC (teacher training courses); these are visited by people from all over the world, all eager to improve their mind, body and spirit by practicing yoga in the Himalayas of Nepal, home to the humble Nepalese and proud Mount Everest.

There are already several well established yoga retreats and ashrams in the Himalayas that have Everest as a spectacular background for their classes, and the number of yoga retreats in Nepal is growing yearly as more and more visitors make the trip to Nepal to enjoy and learn from the many yoga workshops and yoga teachers that are based there.

Ashrams are traditionally a religious hermitage, though in modern times they often denote a place for various spiritual practices such as music study or yoga. There are a large number of ashrams in Nepal that specialise in yoga training, and they are typically located far away from human habitation so as to be able to offer the seclusion one needs for such a spiritual form of exercise.

Ashrams and yoga retreats in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal offer a wide range of different styles of yoga in their yoga workshops, so when choosing a yoga retreat one must consider what goals they are hoping to achieve with their yoga practice, and then research what style of yoga will be the most beneficial to them. Many of them also now offer holistic nutrition.

Yoga workshops dont just offer training for people who practice yoga, but they also provide yoga teacher training for people that wish to take their yoga skills to a higher level and begin teaching yoga themselves.

Many of the yoga retreats in Nepal offer full yoga teacher training courses (TTC) in their workshops now and TTCs are one of the fastest growing branches of the yoga retreats in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Studying a teacher training course at a yoga retreat in Nepal takes students to the next level of the yoga experience introducing new skills, knowledge and awareness of yoga practic e, and of course most importantly it teaches one how to pass on this knowledge others.

There is something quite special about being nestled away in the Himalayas of Nepal, on the roof of the world, learning and practicing the ancient art of yoga. Perhaps this is because of the obvious historical association Nepal has with yoga, but there is also something about the Himalayas themselves, the remoteness, being cut off from modern civilization, and of course, beautiful scenery gives the region and Nepal a unique spiritual atmosphere thats hard to find anywhere else. Whatever it is, visiting an Everest ashram or yoga retreat at Everest is an experience that is not to be forgotten.

A yoga retreat or Ashram in Nepal allows one to take time out from their modern lives and everyday stresses and take the time to focus their attention and concentration on themselves and their physical and mental well being, something that many people forget to do in todays western society.

The benefits of visiting Nepal for a yoga retreat include the obvious physical benefits of increased strength and flexibility that come with yoga practice, the improved mental state of mind that comes from meditation, and last but not least the very basic relaxation and getting away from it all feeling that waking up in the morning and looking out upon a mountain range as impressive as the Himalayas gives you.

Of course a yoga retreat is not only rewarding for the time one visits the retreat, its an educational holiday and learning new meditation and yoga techniques at a yoga workshop is a long term benefit that one can take home back to their own country where they continue to use the knowledge they have learned about yoga in Nepal to continue their practice and improve their lives.

Outside of yoga workshops and yoga teacher training courses, a yoga retreat or ashram in Nepal also offers an amazing Himalayan holiday experience and visitors can partake in a number of other activities such as taking long walks, trekking in the mountains, canoeing, cycling, and bird watching.

Yoga is considered beneficial for a persons health for many reasons, including reducing high blood pressure (hypertension), lowering blood glucose levels, lessening the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain and arthritis, and even reducing the symptoms of asthma.

It should be noted though that studies on the medical benefits of yoga are not as comprehensive as they need to be able to have definite proof about the benefits of yoga. One of the reasons for this is that many studies on yoga are conducted in Nepal and India and only published in foreign medical journals where the standards of the journalists and researchers cannot be checked and controlled. Though these yoga study results regarding direct medical benefits are inconclusive there is a general agreement in medical circles and amongst yoga practicers that yoga is beneficial to ones health.

People who practice yoga report better moods, having less tension and more energy after yoga workshops, all giving a better quality of life. There are also the more obvious benefits gained through exercising ones body with yoga practice such as increased strength, increased flexibility and improved balance. There are several different styles of yoga and each one has its specific benefits so if you are trying yoga to obtain a specific benefit its worth researching what yoga style is going to be the most useful to you.

More information about Yoga retreats and yoga teacher training courses (TTC) in Nepal can be found at Yogi-Nomad.org .

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Yogi-Nomad: Yoga Nepal, Teacher Training Courses And Retreats In India

Yoga is an ancient spiritual concept that originated in the East, namely India and Nepal. Yoga is a reference to traditional physical and mental practices that have been used for thousands of years in India and the East and is now benefitting the lives of yoga practitioners throughout the world. Despite its philosophical look it has a physical basis that equals the spiritual. Yoga is a series of practices, action, method and technique that calms the mind and channels energy in positive directions.

It is still not established as to precisely how long Yoga has been with us, but Yoga experts have so far concluded that the history of Yoga spans between 4000 to 8000 years ago to the present day. The earliest yoga findings have been found at the Indus Valley civilization's sites, and these were active around the Indus Valley region in India circa 1700 3300 BC. Of course, there will always be new discoveries and Yoga findings and no one as yet could give a definite timeline for this ancient tradition.

Several seals were discovered at the Indus Valley civilization sites in North West India that showed people in meditative yoga like postures. Many experts agree that these seals were depicting a precursor of modern day yoga. One of the most well known and famous seals discovered in India was discovered by Sir John Marshall and is called the Pashupati seal. It depicts a three faced figure seated on a throne in a version of the Hatha yoga, a cross legged yoga posture. Both heels of the yogi sit directly under the scrotum and the yogi's penis is erect, with the testicles clearly visible. The position of the heels is an advanced Tantric yoga known as Bhanda. This yoga method has been traditionally used redirect sexual energy and can give the practitioner spiritual powers. The figure on this seal is thought to be Shiva. On the right hand side of this figure a large tiger rears upwards facing him and some suggest it represents the yogi people and the Himalayan region, whereas a depiction of elephant on the Shiva seal represents Eastern India, the buffalo represents Southern India and the rhinoceros represents the regions to the west of in the Indus River.

Whatever the exact starting date of yoga is, one thing is very clear, India has had a long history with the practice of yoga and still today it is considered the primary place in the world to study and practice yoga. Many yoga practitioners wishing to take their yoga studies further often go to India for teacher training courses at the numerous workshops there. There are many teacher training courses in India that take place in workshops at ashrams and yoga retreats in India throughout the year. And the number of yoga teacher training centres in India is growing yearly as the world grows smaller and more people are heading to India the spiritual heart land of Yoga, and learning how to pass on the yoga light itself, by teaching others this ancient practice from India.

Yoga practitioners who travel to India to practice yoga often beeline for the holy city of Varanasi and join one of the many yoga ashrams or yoga retreats that have established themselves there. For many westerners the ultimate yoga experience is to become part of an ashram in Varanasi, experiencing Indian culture first hand and practicing yoga to their heart's content under the skillful guidance of experienced yoga teachers in a workshop.

Varanasi is one of the world's oldest living cities where time and has stood still in many ways. For several thousand years and still today Varanasi is one of the most religious areas of Northern India for Hindus and many will go there to be buried in the holy River Ganges that flows through the city. Varanasi has been a centre of Indian philosophy, yoga, mysticism and Ayurveda for so long that many hard core yoga practitioners feel it's almost a necessity to practice yoga in a Varanasi ashram to achieve a high level of yoga ability. Teacher training courses (TTC) and workshops are also available in many of the Varanasi ashrams and retreats and there is a constant stream of westerners travelling to India and in particular Varanasi to take their yoga practice one stage further and become a teacher of yoga at a teacher training centre. At Varanasi there is a great traditional of teaching yoga, learning yoga and practicing yoga and this tradition still carries on today in ash rams all over the city.

Yoga teacher training courses (TTC) in Varanasi and all over India are usually completed at ashrams or yoga retreats. An ashram is a place where students of Indian philosophies can go to study with experienced teachers and with as little as possible disturbance from the outside world. Ashrams in Varanasi are also called yoga retreats and a yoga class is called a yoga workshop.

Everyone is welcomed at ashrams in India, from beginner yoga practitioners to more experienced people that are taking teaching training courses in yoga workshops, hoping to one day become a yoga teacher themselves. Teacher training courses (TTC) include being taught how to understand, correct, assist, encourage and guide students in yoga. As well as this, the teacher training courses teach people practical teaching methods for yoga workshops, such as making yoga lesson plans and teaching educational techniques to explain the principles of yoga.

The widespread use of yoga throughout the western world is largely due to its health benefits, and many westerners with chronic health problems are now practicing yoga as a resort to tackle these issues. Many people are now aware of the physical benefits of practicing yoga which include improved flexibility, greater strength, better concentration and improved posture.

The Sanskrit word yoga has many meanings and is actually derived from the Sanskrit verbal root yuj' which means to "yoke" or "join" with the supreme spirit. A fair translation would be that yoga helps a person to absorb and reach a state of union with a divine spirit using the spiritual and physical practices of yoga. Yoga is a scientific practice that teaches people the method of uniting the individual soul with the Supreme soul.

For more information on yoga ashrams and retreats in Varanasi and India please visit http://www.yogi-nomad.org and http://www.yogi-nomad.org/yoga_retreats_india.html

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Get the Most Out of your Marathon Training Program

A good marathon training program is what will be the difference in you completing your first marathon successfully or not. It is important to try and get everything you can out of your marathon training program so that you are fully prepared for your first marathon.

You want to be mentally prepared for your marathon training program. You should look at it as an exciting time of your day where you will be working hard to achieve your goal. To help keep motivated you should look forward to your training sessions and head into them with enthusiasm and a positive frame of mind.

It is important to remember that your marathon training program is the most important thing that is going to get you to the starting line and more importantly it is what is going to get you passed the finishing line. So it is important that you treat your marathon training program seriously and with respect. Training for a marathon isnt something you can do whenever you feel like it. That is the whole point of having a marathon training program because it is designed to get you into the right physical shape to complete your first marathon.
If you skip sessions you will be training unevenly, as each session is different you are going to fall behind in a particular area and that is something you cant afford to happen when you are training for your first marathon. Stick to your marathon training program and dont make compromises. Some people say its hard to fit it in when they have so many other things going on in their day. That is very understandable, which is why you start organising your daily routine before you start your marathon training program so that you have prepared ahead of time. You should sit down and work out exactly what time of day you will be able to complete your marathon training program and make sure it doesnt conflict with anything else. That way nothing will come up unexpectedly and you wont be tempted to put your training off until another time.

To get the most out of your marathon training program physically you want to prepare for each session. It is important to get a good nights sleep every night because you will need to give your body a chance to recover and the best way the body can recover is when you are sleeping. Also you dont want to be slow and sluggish before your training sessions because you wont perform to your full potential which will hamper your overall marathon training program and waste time. So it is important to make sure you are well rested and your body is fresh and ready to go.

Another important thing to remember about your marathon training program is that you have to stretch and warm up correctly before you start training. Too often people go out there and start training without warming up correctly and end up injuring themselves and their marathon training program is put on the shelf. It is easy to skip the warm up and get straight into it but you must take the time out to warm up and stretch properly because not only will help you get more out of your marathon training program but it will help prevent injury.

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Stress Management Tips. Great ideas to manage stress

Getting stressed is a normal reaction if you have too many things you next at the same time. But more and more tattered isn crack under pressure? to handle the T way. You need to tighten some stress management tips in the face of the pressure and keep themselves from degradation.

One of the biggest causes of stress at work. take care of themselves about the security of jobs, which leads to the significant workload and will commute daily by your work with it much pressure.

Studies have shown that stress can cause serious negative effects on your health and well-being. Heart problems are just one of the physical manifestations of stress you feel. If you bring your stress at home as well, it can also seriously impact on your personal relationships.

Before your life reaches this point by stress, you need to take action to give them from happening. Instead of always resorting to dealing with negative stress, there are other ways for you to ap proach stress in a healthier way. Here are a few tips to stress management will help to overcome stress.
Stress Management Tip # 1: Give yourself a break. Yes, that? Law. To be able to better cope with stress, you need to step away from what you do? Re doing and you will get all energy. Work under pressure and end, while your duties? Repeatedly emphasized, only down and wear you could have an impact on your performance. Move away from a stressful situation, even for a brief moment to breathe easier and will help give you a new perspective.

Stress Management Tip 2: Have the whole day. It doesn? T have to do something complicated and lengthy. You can enjoy it, reassuring from a hot cup of herbal tea, especially with regard to ease with soothing properties, or buy yourself a little massage your pain.

Stress Management Tip # 3: Are there. If you? Re juggling too many things at once, you tend to forget how to plan your work properly. Create a list of everything you need to do, and arrange them in order of urgency, and when they are required. This will he lp you stay focused on the things that should be done immediately instead turn your attention to those who aren t as urgent.

Stress Management Tip # 4: Say? No? to take on more responsibility. You already have too much on your plate and not much time to work on them, that is the reason why you? Torn and stressed again and again. You don? T need to take more responsibility. But don? T worry that won? T make you look irresponsible and not in the position. If you tell a hard time? No? Additional work, just think of all the work, you need to do, and the time you don? T have to get more work.

Stress Management Tip # 5: Get help. You may want to help talk to a friend or a loved one vent your frustrations, or perhaps even from what you distracted? With your causes stress. Confirm that you? Again, not in a position to do anything don, and? T hesitate to get help around the office.

These stress management tips don? T sound too hard, right? When you first stress under control? Ll be able to work more efficiently and then go to enjoy a happy and fulfilling life.

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Train Yourself on Stress Management to Handle Your Life Better

Life can be very stressful these days due to a variety of reasons. Humanity is progressing faster and faster and the increasing pace of technological progress can put a lot of demand on our lives. Our ever increasing connectedness and always-on always-available status can also become an annoyance as well as a blessing. Hence, awareness of stress, its causes and how to handle it is critical for anyone willing to improve and become better at what they do. This article explores various types of stress and what symptoms to look for to know if you are getting stressed.

Types of Stress

Stress can be categorised to the following two types:

Internal Stress. These are mainly psychological problems such as worrying about something, inability to do something promised, lack of confidence and so on.

External Stress. These stresses are mainly produced by physical conditions and the environment a person lives in such as a noisy environment, cold weather, abusive relationships, bullying, being intimidated and so on.

Amount of Stress

Another way to categorise stress is based on the dimension of time. There are generally two types:

Acute Stress. These are basically short term behaviour in response to an immediate threat that needs to be addressed. As long as the threat is active, you will feel stressed. Your heart rate goes up, there is adrenaline rush, you feel much more aware of your soundings and are sensitive to additional stress. When the threat is reduced, you will return to normal behaviour and your body's function gets restored as well. You heart rate gradually drops to normal and you will breath normally too. Effectively this is a fight-or-flight reaction. Examples that can lead to such stress are overcrowding, loud noise, violent threat, aggressive bullying and so on.

Chronic Stress. These stresses are continuous and usually persist unless addressed. For example, stress due to work pressure and meeting deadlines, isolation, academic worries, giving presentations and public performances, financial worries and so on.

Symptoms

It is useful to be aware of the signs of stress. A lot of times people who are stressed, especially the chronic stress, don't really know how damaging the stress can be over time and knowing that they are indeed stressed can be a first step in moving forward to handle them.

There are basically 4 types of symptoms to look for:

Physical symptoms. The easiest and most familiar symptoms of stress are physical. Examples are increased heart rate, sweating, dry mouth, nausea. Prolonged physical stress can lead to long term physical problems such as backache, migraine, high blood pressure, ulcers, loss of hair, weakened immune system and so on.

Behavioural symptoms. Another class of symptoms that are easy to spot are behavioural in nature. Examples are: increased alcohol consumptions, pacing around a limited area, nail biting, lip chewing, increased smoking, severe daydreaming, eating too much, eating too little and so on.

Emotional symptoms. It may not always be obvious that these emotional symptoms are due to stress so it is important to keep an eye on them. Examples are: depression, crying, hopelessness, shouting, anger, high sensitivity, irritability, impatience, anxiety and so on.

Cognitive symptoms. These are the by-products of being stressed. Examples are inability to concentrate well, overreacting to small events, difficulty in making decisions, forgetting, rushing into decisions, paranoia and so on.

Handling Stress

Stress can be handled in many ways though most solutions go through the following three main stages.

1. Recognise and accept that you are under stress. The first step to accept the problem. If you think you have a problem, you are unlikely to do anything about it. Recognise the signs of stress. Look for symptoms and ask yourself why you should suffer from these symptoms. Are you always tired? Are you feeling that life is becoming repetitive? Are you suffering from lack of sleep?

2. Search for causes. Once you know you are getting stressed, search for the causes of stress. Look at your daily life. When are you most stressed? Look for what you do just immediately beforehand. As you saw earlier, chronic stress may be the result of prolonged stress. So you may have to study yourself more to see what leads to your stress. When you are generally stressed, even small things can prove to be a chore. It is easy to point at them as the cause of stress, though this can be a mistake. Maybe you have been simply sensitive about it and the root cause of your stress is something else, something more fundamental than the little event. Search and examine your life to find out.

3. Deal with the issue. The last step is to accept the problem and devise a strategy to deal with it. Draw up actions and commit yourself to them. Set reminders to check yourself periodically to make sure you are following up with your actions.

As you can see, dealing with stress can be systematic and methodical and all it takes to reduce your stress is to commit yourself to deal with it.

One way to get trained on stress management is to attend stress management training courses. Alternatively, if you have overstressed staff and want to reduce their stress levels, you can use stress management training materials and setup a course on stress management to teach them how to handle their stress more effectively. For details on training resources see below.

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Making A Running Training Journal For Beginners, Does It Really Help?

If you are a beginner runner and just about to begin your running training program, the most effective way to evaluate your exercises is by making a running training journal. This will absolutely help you to keep all tracks and histories of what you have been practicing.
Making a running training journal for beginners is quite easy and simple to do. A running training journal for beginners is very useful and a good way to measure and as well as maintain your training session. It will take into account all the details of your running training program, such as your previous exercises and the current exercises. This journal helps you to always remember where you have started at the beginning. You will also notice some improvements through this running training journal and you could also find out all weaknesses.

By taking all notes of your running training program, such mistakes will teach you how to move on to the next higher level. Creating your own running training journal as a beginner does not need to be very complicated, you may just create a simple and easy to follow journal by yourself. The journal can contain information such as the distance you have traveled, the duration time that you have accomplished running in certain running training schedule during the training program.

In addition to your running training journal, you could also give some detailed stories about your running training. By writing notes of your running routes, the exact time you spent from the starting until the finish point, what you did find through the exercise and all these stories and itineraries are helpful to give a personal touch to your running training program especially for beginners.

Keeping a personal journal of all the time during your running training is truly a reasonable thing you can do on your own. If you have some thoughts and ideas to improve your running skills, you may also add those points to your journal. By doing this, you could easily memorize and identify some factors which will greatly help you to always improve your running performance. Your daily running training journal should be different from day to day; there will be many things you can note during your running exercises. Try to make the journal as simple as possible and you can easily understand.

After several running training sessions, you may go through the journal to compare previous and present condition in order to improve yourself. By comparing, you will know how well you did at certain points and how poor you performed in some running skills. Let say if once you did not do the warming up before the running training and in another day you did, you will see the contrast fact between this simple examples. That is why a running training journal for beginners is really powerful to help you improving faster. Besides that, you must also note your running speed in the journal from various distances you ran. This will highlight the details of your running skills.

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Norway Renewable Power Market Analysis and Forecasts to 2015

GlobalData's Norway Renewable Energy Market Analysis and Forecasts to 2015 report provides detailed analysis and forecasts of the Norway Renewable Energy industry. Sub-chapters in the report analyses each renewable technology in detail. These Sub-chapters covers, historical and forecast statistics relating to the installed capacities, market structure and regulatory policies, key drivers, restraints that govern the growth of each of the renewable energy technology in Norway. The report also analyzes the key players and their strategies in the Norway renewable energy market. The report also provides trends and analysis of investments in the Norway renewable energy market as well as deal summary and news flow for the last six months.

Scope
Technology wise Renewable Energy Market Analysis in Norway
Key drivers and challenges of each Renewable Energy Technology in Norway
Key technological and research and development trends
Predict and forec ast future renewable energy industry trends and market size by technology
Identify growth segments and opportunities in each of the Norway renewable energy technology market
Market overview, development and forecasts of the key renewable energy technologies in Norway
The policies and regulatory framework for each of the key technologies in the Norway renewable energy sector

Reasons to buy
Gain the most up to date and in-depth information on the Norway Renewable Energy market
Analyze all the Renewable Energy Technologies in Norway
Identify the key growth technologies and opportunities within each Renewable Energy Technology market
Facilitate decision-making based on strong historic and forecast data
Develop strategies based on the latest operational and regulatory events
Do deals with an understanding of how competitors are financed, and the mergers and partnerships that have shaped the Norway renewable ene rgy market
Identify and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the leading Norway renewable energy companies
Identify key partners and business development opportunities
Understand and respond to your competitors' business structure, strategy and prospects

1 Table of contents 2
1.1 List of Tables 5
1.2 List of Figures 6

2 Research Scope and Definition 7

3 Introduction to Renewable Energy 8
3.1 Greenhouse Gas Emissions 8
3.2 Burgeoning Energy Demand 9

4 Norway Renewable Power Market 10
4.1 Norway Power Market, Overview 10
4.2 Norway Renewable Power Market, Overview 10
4.3 Norway Renewable Power Market, Production by Fuel Type, 2009 12
4.4 Norway Renewable Power Market, Growth by Fuel Type, 2001-2009 13

5 Norway Wind Power Market 14
5.1 Norway Wind Power Market, Overview 14
5.2 Norway Wind Power Market, Historical and Forecast Cumulative and Annual Ins talled Capacity, 2001-2015 14
5.3 Norway Wind Power Market, Power Generation, 2001-2015 15
5.4 Norway Wind Power Market, Market Forces Analysis 16
5.4.1 Norway Wind Power Market, Key Drivers 16
5.4.2 Norway Wind Power Market, Key Restraints and Challanges 16
5.5 Norway Wind Power Market, Top Production Facilities 17
5.6 Norway Wind Power Market, Top Upcoming Wind Farms 18
5.7 Norway Wind Power Market, Top Active Offshore Wind Farms 18
5.8 Norway Wind Power Market, Top 15 Upcoming Offshore Wind Farms 19

6 Norway Solar PV Power Market 20
6.1 Norway Solar PV Power Market, Overview 20
6.2 Norway Solar PV Power Market, Historical and Forecast Cumulative and Annual Installed Capacity, 2001-2015 20
6.3 Norway Solar PV Power Market, Power Generation, 2001-2015 21
6.4 Norway Solar PV Market, Share of Ongrid - Offgrid Development, 2001-09 22
6.5 Norway Solar PV Power Market, Market Forces Analysis 23
6.5. 1 Norway Solar PV Power Market, Key Driver 23
6.5.2 Norway Solar PV Power Market, Key Restraints and Challenge 23
6.6 Norway Solar PV Power Market, Solar Parks 23
6.6.1 Norway Solar PV Power Market, Active Solar PV Parks 23

7 Norway Biopower Market 24
7.1 Norway Biopower Market, Overview 24
7.2 Norway Biopower Market, Historical Annual and Cumulative Installed Capacity, 2001-2015 24
7.3 Norway Biopower Market, Power Generation, 2001-2015 25
7.3.1 Norway Biopower Market, Key Issues and Challenges 26
7.4 Norway Biopower Market, Top Production Facilities 26

8 Norway, Major Policies and Market Instruments Supporting Renewables 27
8.1 Norway Renewable Energy, Major Policies and Incentives 27
8.1.1 Renewable Directive 27 8.1.2 New Regulation on the Original Warranty for the Production of Electrical Energy, 2007 27
8.1.3 Enova SF Fund 28
8.1.4 The Basic Fund 28
8.1.5 Energi21 R&D Strategy for the Energy Sector 28
8.1.6 White Paper on National Climate Policy, 2007 29
8.1.7 Norway-Sweden Green Certificate Scheme 29
8.1.8 Clean Energy for the Future (RENERGI) Program 29
8.1.9 Enova Support Program for Housing, Building and Construction 30
8.1.10 Contribution of households Grants 30
8.1.11 Legislation on Offshore Renewable Energy Production 31
8.1.12 The EU 7th Framework Program for Research 31
8.1.13 Norway, Development of Hydrogen for Transport Sector 31

9 Norway Solar Power, Major Policies and Incentives 33

10 Norway Wind, Major Policies and Incentives 34
10.1 Enova's Wind Power Program 34
10.2 Support Scheme for Electricity from Wind Power 34

11 Norway Bioenergy, Major Policies and Incentive s 35
11.1 Bioenergy strategy 35
11.2 Support Scheme for Electricity from Bioenergy 35

12 Enercon GmbH ,Company Snapshot 36
12.1 Key Information 36
12.2 Company Overview 36
12.3 Business Description 36
12.3.1 Business Overview 36
12.4 Major Products and Services 37
12.5 History 37
12.6 SWOT Analysis 38
12.6.1 Overview 38
12.6.2 Enercon GmbH Strengths 38
12.6.3 Enercon GmbH Weaknesses 39
12.6.4 Enercon GmbH Opportunities 39
12.6.5 Enercon GmbH Threats 40
12.7 Competitors 41
12.8 Key Employees 42
12.9 Locations and Subsidiaries 42
12.9.1 Head Office 42
12.9.2 Other Locations & Subsidiaries 42

13 Ostfold Energi AS ,Company Snapshot 44
13.1 Key Information 44
13.2 Company Overview 44
13.3 Business Description 44
13.3.1 Business Overview 44
13.4 Major Products and Services 45
13.5 History 45
13.6 SWOT Analysis 46
13.6.1 Ov erview 46
13.6.2 Ostfold Energi AS Strengths 46
13.6.3 Ostfold Energi AS Weaknesses 47
13.6.4 Ostfold Energi AS Opportunities 47
13.6.5 Ostfold Energi AS Threats 48
13.7 Competitors 48
13.8 Key Employees 49
13.9 Company Statement 49
13.10 Locations and Subsidiaries 52
13.10.1 Head Office 52

14 Renewable Energy Corporation ASA, Company Snapshot 53
14.1 Key Information 53
14.2 Company Overview 53
14.3 Business Description 53
14.3.1 Business Overview 53
14.3.2 Other 53
14.3.3 REC Silicon 54
14.3.4 REC Solar 54
14.3.5 REC Wafer 55
14.4 Major Products and Services 55
14.5 History 56
14.6 SWOT Analysis 57
14.6.1 Overview 57
14.6.2 Renewable Energy Corporation ASA Strengths 58
14.6.3 Renewable Energy Corporation ASA Weaknesses 58
14.6.4 Renewable Energy Corporation ASA Opportunities 59
14.6.5 Renewable Energy Corporation ASA Threats 59
14.7 Co mpetitors 60
14.8 Key Employees 61
14.9 Key Employee Biographies 61
14.10 Company Statement 63
14.11 Locations and Subsidiaries 64
14.11.1 Head Office 64
14.11.2 Other Locations & Subsidiaries 65

15 Siemens AG, Company Snapshot 66
15.1 Key Information 66
15.2 Company Overview 66
15.3 SWOT Snapshot 66
15.4 Business Description 66
15.4.1 Business Overview 66
15.4.2 Energy 67
15.4.3 Equity Investments 68
15.4.4 Healthcare 68
15.4.5 Industry 69
15.4.6 Siemens Financial Services (SFS) 71
15.4.7 Siemens IT Solutions and Services (SIS) 71
15.5 Major Products and Services 72
15.5.1 Overview 72
15.6 History 75
15.7 Company Statement 78
15.8 SWOT Analysis 81
15.8.2 Siemens AG Strengths 82
15.8.3 Siemens AG Weaknesses 83
15.8.4 Siemens AG Opportunities 84
15.8.5 Siemens AG Threats 85
15.9 Competitors 86
15.10 Key Employees 87
15 .11 Key Employee Biographies 87
15.12 Company Statement 88
15.13 Locations and Subsidiaries 91
15.13.1 Head Office 91
15.13.2 Other Locations & Subsidiaries 92

16 Statkraft AS ,Company Snapshot 94
16.1 Key Information 94
16.2 Company Overview 94
16.3 Business Description 94
16.3.1 Business Overview 94
16.3.2 Customers 94
16.3.3 Emerging Markets 95
16.3.4 Generation and Markets 95
16.3.5 Industrial Ownership 96
16.3.6 Other 97
16.3.7 Skagerak Energi 97
16.3.8 Wind Power 98
16.4 Major Products and Services 99
16.5 History 99
16.6 SWOT Analysis 101
16.6.1 Overview 101
16.6.2 Statkraft AS Strengths 102
16.6.3 Statkraft AS Weaknesses 103
16.6.4 Statkraft AS Opportunities 103
16.6.5 Statkraft AS Threats 104
16.7 Competitors 104
16.8 Key Employees 105
16.9 Key Employee Biographies 106
16.10 Company Statement 106
16.11 Locations a nd Subsidiaries 107
16.11.1 Head Office 107
16.11.2 Other Locations & Subsidiaries 108

17 Appendix 109
17.1 About Alternative Energy eTrack 109
17.2 Methodology 109
17.2.1 Coverage 110
17.2.2 Secondary Research 110
17.2.3 Primary Research 110
17.2.4 Expert Panel Validation 111
17.3 Contact Us 111
17.4 Disclaimer 111

1.1 List of Tables
Table 1: Global CO2 Emissions, Million Metric Tons, 2001-2008 8
Table 2: The Global Projected Energy Consumption, Mtoe, 2001-2030 9
Table 3: Norway Power Market, Split by Fuel Type, Percentage, 2009 10
Table 4: Norway Renewable Power Market, Historical Cumulative Installed Capacity (Including Hydro), MW, 2001-2009 11
Table 5: Norway Renewable Power Market, Installed Capacity Split by Fuel Type, Percentage, 2009 12
Table 6: Norway Renewable Power Market, Cumulative Installed Capacity by Fuel Type, MW, 2001-2009 13
Table 7: Norway Wind M arket, Historical and Forecast Cumulative and Annual Installed Capacity, MW, 2001-2015 15
Table 8: Norway Wind Power Market, Historical and Forecast Power Generation, GWh, 2001-2015 16
Table 9: Norway Wind Power Market, Top 15 Active Wind Farms, 2009 17
Table 10: Norway Wind Power Market, Top 15 Upcoming Wind Farms, 2009 18
Table 11: Norway Wind Power Market, Top Active Offshore Wind Farms, 2009 18
Table 12: Norway Wind Power Market, Top 15 Upcoming Offshore Wind Farms, 2009 19
Table 13: Norway Solar PV Power Market, Historical and Forecast Cumulative and Annual Installed Capacity, MW, 2001-2015 21
Table 14: Norway Solar PV Power Market, Historical and Forecast Power Generation, GWh, 2001-2015 22
Table 15: Norway Solar PV Power Market, Historical Cumulative Installed Capacity Split by Grid Connectivity, MW, 2001-2009 23
Table 16: Norway Solar PV Power Market, Active Solar Parks, 2009 23
Table 17: Norway Biopower Market, Bioma ss Historical and Forecast Cumulative and Annual Installed Capacity, MW, 2001-2015 25
Table 18: Norway Biopower Market, Biomass Historical and Forecast Power Generation, GWh, 2001-2015 26
Table 19: Norway Biopower Market, Active Biomass Power Plants, 2009 26
Table 20: Enercon GmbH, Key Facts 36
Table 21: Enercon GmbH, SWOT Analysis 38
Table 22: Enercon GmbH, Key Employees 42
Table 23: Enercon GmbH, Other Locations 42
Table 24: Enercon GmbH, Subsidiaries 43
Table 25: Ostfold Energi AS, Key Facts 44
Table 26: Ostfold Energi AS, SWOT Analysis 46
Table 27: Ostfold Energi AS, Key Employees 49
Table 28: Renewable Energy Corporation ASA, Key Facts 53
Table 29: Renewable Energy Corporation ASA, SWOT Analysis 57
Table 30: Renewable Energy Corporation ASA, Key Employees 61
Table 31: Renewable Energy Corporation ASA, Subsidiaries 65
Table 32: Siemens AG, Key Facts 66
Table 33: Siemens AG, SWOT Analysis 81Table 34: Siemens AG, Key Employees 87
Table 35: Siemens AG, Subsidiaries 92
Table 36: Statkraft AS, Key Facts 94
Table 37: Statkraft AS, SWOT Analysis 102
Table 38: Statkraft AS, Key Employees 105
Table 39: Statkraft AS, Other Locations 108
Table 40: Statkraft AS, Subsidiaries 108

1.2 List of Figures
Figure 1: Global CO2 Emissions, Million Metric Tons, 2001-2008 8
Figure 2: Global Projected Energy Consumption, Mtoe, 2001-2030 9
Figure 3: Norway Power Market, Split by Fuel Type, Percentage, 2009 10
Figure 4: Norway Renewable Power Market, Historical Cumulative Installed Capacity (Including Hydro), MW, 2001-2009 11
Figure 5: Norway Renewable Power Market, Installed Capacity Split by Fuel Type, Percentage, 2009 12
Figure 6: Norway Wind Market, Historical and Forecast Cumulative and Annual Installed Capacity, MW, 2001-2015 14
Figure 7: Norway Wind Power Market, Historical and Forecast Power Generati on, GWh, 2001-2015 15
Figure 8: Norway Solar PV Power Market, Historical and Forecast Cumulative and Annual Installed Capacity, MW, 2001-2015 20
Figure 9: Norway Solar PV Power Market, Historical and Forecast Power Generation, GWh, 2001-2015 21
Figure 10: Norway Solar PV Power Market, Historical Cumulative Installed Capacity Split by Grid Connectivity, MW, 2001-2009 22
Figure 11: Norway Biopower Market, Biomass Historical and Forecast Cumulative and Annual Installed Capacity, MW, 2001-2015 24
Figure 12: Norway Biopower Market, Biomass Historical and Forecast Power Generation, GWh, 2001-2015 25
Figure 13: GlobalData Methodology 109

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Factors influencing weight loss & how to maximize weight loss

The number one goal of 90% of my clients has been weight loss. Some people are obese and need to lose a substantial amount of weight for health reasons and other people with a healthy BMI just want to get rid of a few pounds to look and feel better (we all want six pack abs). Weight loss depends on how much energy is used to do work (i.e., to move, digest food, think etc.,) relative to how much energy is consumed and stored (caloric intake). Energy is constant so if the energy output (work done) is greater than the energy input (calories consumed) there will be a negative energy balance which forces the body to tap into fat to make up for that deficit. The energy output consists of a person's resting or basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the total number of calories a person uses while at rest, and a person's active metabolic rate (AMR), which is the total number of calories a person uses if they incorporate movement. If you want to lose fat then you have to create a dai ly negative caloric balance by limiting your caloric intake or increasing your BMR and AMR or a combination of both.

There are several factors that influence the BMR, AMR and the rate of weight loss. The BMR is influenced by body composition, age, gender, level of stress, body type (or somatotype), hormones and food intake. The AMR is influenced by the activity level. A negative energy balance is created by controlling the caloric intake. All of these need to be carefully balanced in order to achieve your weight loss goal without compromising your health or losing muscle.

The higher the percentage of body fat the quicker the rate of weight loss. I've trained obese people around 40% body fat who could shed up to 3lbs a week by following a rigorous program. However if you are around 15% body fat then the rate of weight loss is exponentially lower. At you'll be extremely lucky to lose 1 pound per week (the typical amount is 0.5lbs/week). Having a higher percentage of muscle also contributes to quicker fat loss but not as much as many people claim. The common misconception is that muscle is 20x more metabolically active than fat and therefore having more muscle raises your BMR accordingly. Recent studies found that 1 pound of muscle burns about 6 calories per day, not 50 calories as is popularly believed. This is still higher than fatty tissue which burns 2 calories per pound per day.

A person's age and gender also influence the rate of weight loss. As you get older your metabolism slows down because your body tends to lose muscle and gain fat which slows down your ability to burn calories. However this can be attenuated by doing regular cardio, strength training and keeping a healthy diet. There is a slight difference between men and women because men have more testosterone which helps to build muscle and so men will have a higher BMR than women on average because they have more muscle.

The level of mental and physical stress affects the rate of fat loss. Cortisol is a hormone released when the body is under stress such as in a fight or flight situation. It serves a biological function of freeing up energy by breaking down fat and muscle tissue during a stressful event so that the body can use it to fight or flee. However, in today's society we do not use that energy to fight or flee and so it gets deposited back into fat around the abdominal region. Prolonged stress can increase the resting level of cortisol making it very hard to burn fat in the abdominal region.

Humans come in three different body types or somatotypes that are genetically determined: ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph. These body types represent a continuum of body composition and the ability to gain or lose weight (either muscle or fat). Ectomorphs have the least total body mass (made up of fat, muscle and bone). Ectomorphs tend to be tall and skinny and have difficulty gaining weight because they have a fast metabolism. Weight loss for ectomorphs is not an issue but muscle gain is. Mesomorphs have an average total body mass and can change their body composition very easily. Mesomorphs have an intermediate metabolic rate. Endomorphs have the greatest total body mass and tend to put on weight very easily. Endomorphs have the greatest difficulty in burning fat because they have the slowest metabolism.

The BMR is influenced by the levels of thyroid hormones and the catecholamines epinephrine and nor-epinephrine. Thyroid hormones are thermogenic raising body temperature and BMR. People with hypothyroidism (low level of thyroid hormones) have a very slow metabolism, tend to put on fat very easily and have difficulty losing fat. People with hyperthyroidism (high level of thyroid hormones) have a very fast metabolism, tend to be skinny and have difficulties putting on weight. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for arousal and utilizing energy to be used in times of stress or arousal. The primary hormones that activate the sympathetic nervous system are epinephrine (adrenaline) and nor-epinephrine. Both of these hormones will increase heart rate and force of contraction, increase blood flow to muscles, suppress hunger, and utilize the body to break down fat and glycogen to produce glucose. Most weight loss pills are stimulants that increase the activity of the symp athetic nervous system. Caffeine is often used in over the counter weight loss pills in conjunction with other stimulants because it increases cardiac output, helps the body to utilize fat as a fuel source by increasing epinephrine levels, and suppresses hunger.

Food intake has the greatest effect on basal metabolic rate. The body has to expand energy when digesting and processing food. This is called the thermic effect of food or diet induced thermogensis. The quantity and type of food ingested influences how much energy is required to process the food. Research indicates that proteins are harder to process than fats and so have a much higher thermic effect. Therefore increasing the quantity of protein in your diet will raise your BMR. Foods that are high in fiber such as celery and grapefruit are the hardest to process and have the highest thermic effect. These foods also have what is called a negative caloric balance because they take more energy to digest than the energy they release from digestion.

Increasing the level of physical activity increases the AMR. The more active you are the more calories are needed. The type of activity you engage in as well as the duration and intensity of that activity influences how many extra calories are needed and from what food source these calories come from.

Contrary to popular belief low intensity and long duration cardiovascular activity doesn't burn more fat than shorter duration high intensity cardio. Numerous studies have demonstrated that high intensity interval training (where the heart rate is between 80-90% of its maximum) is more effective for fat loss than low intensity endurance activity because the body has to make up for the oxygen deficit produced during exercise and it burns calories for up to two hours after you stop exercising. This phenomenon is called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). Resistance training is also recommended for fat loss because not only is energy needed during the workout but also after the workout because the body has to repair and build new muscle and this takes energy. Activities with a heavier weight or resistance level and a lower rep number per set are recommended over activities with a light weight and a high rep number per set because lifting heavier weights produces m ore microtrauma in muscles which is a stimulus for repair and synthesis.

Carbohydrate is the primary source of fuel for the body and it is the only fuel source besides ketones that the brain can use. Whereas fats and proteins must be converted into intermediate forms before they can be used as fuel. Before, during and after higher intensity physical activity the body needs carbohydrates otherwise the blood sugar will get too low and a person will crash, feel nauseous and throw up. Carbohydrates and proteins are needed to build muscle after heavy resistance training. Therefore, when incorporating physical activity into a weight loss program the body will need an adequate supply of proteins and carbohydrates. I found that when incorporating higher intensity cardio and resistance training into a fat loss program a person's diet should be roughly % 35 carbohydrates, % 45 proteins, and % 20 fats and the maximum daily caloric deficit should not exceed 750 calories.

In order to burn fat a person must maintain a proper caloric intake. Exercise itself is not enough if there isn't a sufficient daily caloric deficit. Fatty tissue is a medium the body uses to store energy. One pound of fat stores 3500 calories therefore 3500 calories have to be used in order to burn one pound of fat. In order to burn fat a person must eat fewer calories everyday than they eat regularly to maintain their current weight. If a person eats 500 fewer calories per day then they can lose 1 pound of fat in 7 days. This rate of 1 pound per week is widely acknowledged by health and fitness professionals as a safe and healthy rate of weight loss. Starvation diets (anything above a 1000 caloric deficit) are unhealthy because the body burns more muscle than fat (fat is needed as an energy source when food is scarce) and because the body isn't getting the essential amount of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other phytonutrients that keep us healthy.

Now that you have a better idea of the factors involved in metabolism and fat loss you can incorporate some of these into your weight loss program. However a professional weight loss program incorporates many of these factors at the same time and these factors have to be carefully balanced in order to achieve optimum fat loss results without depriving yourself of essential nutrients and losing muscle and strength. I design fat loss programs that are personalized (I take into account your metabolic profile, activity level, and other relevant physical attributes) and comprehensive (I take multiple factors into account attacking fat from every angle).

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Marathon Training Schedule For Beginner Marathoners

Many marathon training beginners get very enthused and start out full blazes with every good intention to see their training through, only to fall short with fatigue and or injuries and little progress after only two weeks. In fact, a full 98% of those who embark on a marathon training program give up within two weeks!This year is the one, you've decided to run a marathon and achieve one of your long term goals. You're ready, willing and able, but what do you do next? At this point most people would look for a marathon training schedule. You can download them for free from most running or charity websites and generally they'll give you a bunch of numbers, either distances or times that you need to run for each day.

More and more people are running a marathon these days. But many of them struggle to complete the event. Selecting the right training schedule to follow is a huge factor in deciding how well a runner will finish the race. I was brand new to running, living with diabetes and training for my first marathon. I had a great start and now it was time to get serious about my training. As I quickly learned, this was about much more than physical preparation. When you're reaching for a goal, it's your early work that provides the foundation you'll need to keep going.

# 1 - A marathon is a 26.2 mile run. Notice that I said run!You've decided to run a marathon and have started to follow a schedules. If you follow these 10 essentials of marathon training, you will arrive at the start line in fine form.

This article shares the insider secrets and tips how as a first timer, training for my 1st marathon helped me Feel Good, Lose Weight and achieve optimum health and fitness. Running using the running easy approach has given me a zest for life and an enthusiasm to embrace a healthy lifestyle. I started as an absolute beginner with no previous running experience and went from completing my very first marathon to completing multiple marathons and ultra marathons using the running easy approach. The endorphin lift running gives you is simply poetry in motion. No need to head for any "feel good" pills.Today I want you to take a good hard think about your breathing. Correct breathing is essential.

As a beginner training for a half-marathon, one of the most common questions asked is "What should my time be?" A few tips on race timing and the factors that determine the time to finish the race are outlined below.If you are thinking of running a marathon but don't really know what to do in terms of how much running to do, when to do it, when to take rest days or how difficult it ought to feel, then you may benefit from employing the skills of a marathon coach? These days a number of people seek the guidance of professionals when they have a goal or objective in mind.

There's three crucial areas you will need to evaluate when deciding upon a marathon training programme. They are; eating routine or nutrition, running accessories and equipment and of course the actual running and training plan itself. The actual plan you choose to use will probably be dependent on your own personal knowledge of these topics.If you're going to start training to run a half marathon you need to have a basic level of fitness. It's all too easy to be inspired by seeing the Great North Run or the London Marathon and think "I can do that".

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The Importance of Half Marathon Training Plan

It is important that you know all the little things about running especially when you are aiming to take part in half marathon. A half marathon training plan could be of great help to you. Even if you are a beginner runner or an expert runner, there is still a need for you to be equipped with half marathon training plan. It is important that you need to give attention to some tips that you will learn from half marathon training plan to improve your running skills, to provide you race preparation and to impressively improve your opportunities in becoming successful in running.

Historically speaking, there were many people who dared to participate in half marathon and long distance races. However, there were only few who made it to the last minute and succeed. Why was that so? It was simply because, most of the runners who joined the marathon were not properly trained to do long distance run. With half marathon training plan, there will be a big possibility that you can make it to the finish line with less risk of pain and injury.

The half marathon training plan plays a vital role in every runner. Indeed running or taking part in a marathon is extremely difficult. You need to be stirred with motivation and discipline. It is important that you should not give up in the middle of half marathon training plan as pitfalls sprout just uncontrollably. Listed below are some of the common obstacles that might impede you to continue your half marathon training plan.

1. Motivation

This is very important if you are aiming to join a half marathon. You should have the answer to question: "why do you want to run a half marathon?" If you already have a concrete answer to this question, then you are most probably ready to do a half marathon training plan. Whatever the reasons are, it is best to be prepared with half marathon training plan.

2. Nutrition

If you go for half marathon training, it is important that you take in some good nutrients to nourish your body. A half marathon training plan is absolutely exhausting that it could weaken your body. A good nutrition is enough to keep you on the go until the last day of your half marathon training plan. Make it sure to eat fruit, vegetables, carbohydrates, rich in protein food and avoid alcohol, junk food and caffeine. Doing this help you finish your half marathon training plan.

3. Shoes

In order to be successful in doing your half marathon training plan, you need to get your self a very good pair of running shoes. Your running shoes play a vital role through your training. If you happen to pick the wrong shoes, it could cause pain to your feet and that becomes a reason that you stop you half marathon training plan. It is advised that before jumping on the first day of you half marathon training plan, visit a running shoe store and purchase a good pair that would fit comfortably to your feet.

4. Rest and Recovery

It is a rule of thumb that you need to give rest to your body. No matter how strong you think you are, it is important that you do some rest while doing along with your half marathon training plan. This should be done in between your workouts.

5. Hydrate your Body

Water is the best weapon when you go running or when you are doing your half marathon training plan. You need to hydrate your body since your body emits fluid as your jog, or run around.

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Setting Up a Half Marathon Training Program

A half marathon training program is something that you want to setup when you have made the decision to run a half marathon. It is a great way to get fit and it is good preparation for a full marathon. Having a half marathon training program is very important, some people dont take the half marathon seriously and dont train specifically for it because they dont believe it holds the same prestige as a full marathon. This is a big mistake, it is very important to have a correct marathon training program in place.

A half marathon training program will differ from a full marathon training program because you dont have to have the same level of endurance. Endurance is still required as a half marathon is still a large distance in anyones language but it doesnt require as much endurance as a full marathon.

So you want to slowly build up your mileage each week by increasing the amount of distance you run in each session. Your half marathon training program should have you running at least 4 days a week and increasing the distance each time you run.
There are a lot of different half marathon training programs out there so it is important that you take your time and work out what is going to fit you best. Knowing how to train correctly for a half marathon makes all the difference so it is vitally important that you have a half marathon training program that is going to provide you with quality results and hold you in good stead for your half marathon.

Setting goals is a very important factor when it comes to your half marathon training program and you should take it very seriously. Having goals gives you focus and direction and keeps you motivated. You should write out your goals on a piece of paper and look at them everyday, this helps you stay motivated and reminds you of what it is you are training for. It is also important to have long term goals and short term goals. You want to have a big picture goal like completing a half marathon and then have smaller goals leading up to it such as getting the most out of your training.

You must commit to your half marathon training program and stick to it. The best way to do this is to look at your current daily schedule and re-organize yourself so that you can fit your half marathon training program into your daily routine. It is very important that you are serious about your training and dont skip sessions. You cant just train whenever you feel like it and still expect to cruise through your half marathon. So if you take the time out to prepare a schedule where you will have time set aside for your half marathon training program it will be easy to follow. When you are unorganized that is when it becomes very easy to skip sessions or run out of time and not complete your half marathon training program.

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The Importance of Having a Marathon Training Schedule

If you have made the decision to run a marathon it is vitally important that you have a marathon training schedule you can stick to. Running a marathon requires strict planning and discipline and the best way to achieve this is to have a correct marathon training schedule set up.

So how do you prepare a marathon training schedule that will hold you in good stead throughout your marathon training? Well you need to organise yourself and work out what the best times would be for you to train.

Working out what your daily routine is now is important because that way you can work out the most busiest times during your day and the times where you are not so busy. A marathon training schedule is all about organisation so you need to organise your day so that you will have time to train. But it is important to remember that you must make time for your marathon training schedule because you cant just try and work around other things and fit in a session here and there.

This all comes back to organising your day. You will need to set aside time each week specifically for your marathon training schedule and not break it. Write it out and make sure that those hours are free and dont book anything in that time. Also be strong and let other people know about it, if something conflicts with your marathon training schedule make sure that you stick to your training and reorganise whatever it is that is conflicting with your marathon training schedule.
Now, a correct marathon training schedule will consist of training sessions five days a week with two rest days. Typically these rest days will be on a Monday and Friday while the rest of the days will be when you complete your marathon training. A marathon training schedule like this will have you doing your short to medium runs on week days and your long run on the Saturday.

On Sundays you will do some form of cross training. Cross training is a very important part in any marathon training schedule because it helps to prevent over use injury and helps with recovery. Some good cross training exercises are walking, swimming or riding a bike. It is a good idea to have a marathon training schedule that has the cross training session the day after your long run because it gives the body a break from running and helps to quicken recovery.

Your marathon training schedule should be very detailed and contain exactly what you will be doing throughout the coming weeks. It also has to allow for progression as you want to be running longer distances over time. A good marathon training schedule will have you slowly increase the amount of miles you run each week. For a beginner you will want to build up to around 45 to 50 miles each week before you attempt your first marathon.

When you prepare your marathon training schedule you will want to increase the long run distance and the mid week run distance evenly over time. Some people believe that a good guide is to increase your mileage by about 10 percent each week. For your long run you want to be able to eventually get to the stage where you can comfortably run 20 -23 miles in one session. If you have a marathon training schedule that slowly builds up to that mark and it is a schedule you can stick to and commit to then you are going to have a fantastic marathon and will love every second of it.

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If you take to reach that complete marathon training schedule and marathon training plan

The leading prospect to marathon training is to foremost check that you are efficient to give in the competent preparation required to successfully accomplish a marathon. Whether you are into professional marathon training or just applying a marathon training plan for your health agenda, you should preserve in mind that you should be certain to have the discipline and impulse to end the arduous marathon training. This would be fundamental if you want to finish your marathon successfully and not merely be an also ran. So it is really pressing that you train matching to your marathon training schedule in case you want to compete in a marathon.

Planning for marathon training? Recall that one of the stuff that you should keep in mind while preparation for it is to keep maximizing your running length. This of course would be followed in case you have been practicing running for about a year antecedently. Fit weekly goals to reach and watch those exha ustively while maximizing them steadily. Make certain that you start and stop the race in a healthy shape and this should be one of your better aims while running a race. Ascertaining that your body bears the marathon training in a solid way should constantly be kept in mind. It would be stupid to drive your body to its limits just to participate in a marathon and finish up being severely injured or burnt out. Make certain that you are able to step the fine line between training pretty and growing hurt or indisposed.

Want to keep your stride while going over your marathon training. You could do it by beginning running the full distance of the marathon 4 weeks pre-existing to the event. Build your marathon training slow and see that you do your marathon training plan with recuperation days and walk breaks to assure no burn out. In fact marathon training well for about three or four days should do the trick. Determine that you are utilizing your marathon stride on a regular basis and keep extending it slowly.

During your marathon training, be secure to keep ingesting good sums of carbohydrates during breaks and after lasting runs as this will fill again your energy charges.You might wish to supplement your breaks with a spot of protein and water as well. Eat Up foods that are rich in iron sources and vitamins to facilitate your body observe that serious healthy balance.

Are you a first time marathon runner? Design your marathon training plan cautiously by interpreting these critical pointers which will be highly advantageous for your designing. Ensure that your marathon training has an associated assortment of several training exercises. The drive should be on running fairly and not on sprinting. Take it easy on the first and last couple of weeks of your marathon training. Try and ensure that you grant appropriate warm up and cool down time to your body to fend off hazardous injuries during the training.

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What is The Best Marathon Training Schedule for Beginners?

Running a marathon is one of the important goals of a runner. Many people say that running a marathon is never an easy task. There is a need that you will undergo training especially is you are still considered a beginner in running. For novice runners, it is important that they follow a marathon training schedule for beginners to achieve progress and direction. Perhaps, you will be wondering why a marathon training schedule for beginners is very important. Indeed, a marathon training schedule for beginners is a lot essential since it could serve as their foundation to prepare for the marathon. It is a training that aims to develop every runner to achieve satisfaction and victory in the running marathon.

What is a marathon training schedule for beginners is all about?

The marathon training schedule for beginners is designed to encourage every runner to set a direction, a goal and a target in order to be motivated during the training. The marathon training schedule for beginners aims to develop the fitness skills and endurance level of every runner.

A running training is very important for beginners to avoid injury and frustration. Many of us feel so agitated to participate in any running activity most especially a running marathon without doing appropriate training. Now, what happens when a novice runner engages in a running activity without doing any proper marathon training, and what's worst, they do not follow the marathon training schedule for beginners? Always remember that a marathon training schedule for beginners is a simple step-by- step guide that covers everything that you need to know about running marathon.

A marathon training schedule for beginners will give you helpful information about nutrition advice, effective techniques in running, information on injury prevention, strategies on staying motivated and focused and most of all, a marathon training schedule for beginners is equipped with structured marathon training. In addition, a marathon training schedule for beginners also gives you innumerable tips in running.

What happens when you do not follow a good marathon training schedule for beginners?

A good marathon training schedule for beginners as mentioned earlier is a good structured plan of your training. Without a good marathon training schedule for beginners, even if you are healthy, strong and you believe that you possess a great speed in running, still you will be running for disappointment and injury. No matter how enthusiastic you are but if you do possess a good foundation for running, everything will still be for naught. You can find an online source about a comprehensive training guide juts like the marathon training schedule for beginners that could be of great help to you as you start the first day of your training until the day that you will be joining a running marathon.Marathontraining schedule for beginner is no doubt a helpful guide for everyone.

If you do not have a running buddy, the manual about a marathon training schedule for beginners can be your partner during the training. If you feel down and almost about give up, turn to your marathon training schedule for beginners manual and be guided in order to boost your energy and motivation. The marathon training schedule for beginners will help you stay focused on your goals and keep you motivated to attain them. It is really a plus if a runner has done a good marathon training schedule for beginners in order to develop a runner's fitness skills and to maintain the endurance level of the person. Remember that a running marathon is a long distance run; therefore every runner only needs to be prepared physically and emotionally

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Stress Management Tips – Great Ideas to Manage Stress

Getting stressed is a perfectly normal reaction if you have too many things coming at you at the same time. But always getting frazzled and cracking under pressure isnt the way to handle it. You need to apply some stress management tips to toughen yourself up in the face of pressure and to keep yourself from breaking down.

One of the biggest causes of stress is the workplace. From worrying about job security, dealing with heavy workload, and going through the daily commute, your job carries with it a lot of pressure.

Studies have shown that stress can have a severe negative impact on your health and well-being. Heart problems are just one of the physical manifestations of the tension you feel. If you bring your stress home as well, it can also severely impact your personal relationships.

Before your life reaches this point due to stress, you must take action to keep it from happening. Instead of always resorting to dealing with stress negatively, there are other means for you to approach stress in a healthier way. Here are a few stress management tips to help you overcome stress.
Stress Management Tip # 1: Take a break. Yes, thats right. To be able to cope with stress better, you need to step away from what youre doing and get your energy together. Working under pressure and completing your duties while youre stressed will only wear you down and could also affect your performance. Removing yourself from a stressful situation, even for a brief moment, will help you breathe more easily and give you a fresh perspective.

Stress Management Tip # 2: Pamper yourself throughout the day. It doesnt have to be anything elaborate and lengthy. You can do it by enjoying a hot soothing cup of herbal tea, particular ones with calming properties, or buy yourself a small massager to soothe your aches and pains.

Stress Management Tip # 3: Be organized. If youre juggling too many things all at once, you tend to forget how to schedule your work properly. Make a list of everything you need to do, and then arrange them in order of urgency and when they need to be completed. This will help you stay focused on the things that need to be done right away instead of turning your attention to the ones that arent as urgent.

Stress Management Tip # 4: Say no to more responsibilities. You already have too much on your plate and not much time to work on them, which is why youre getting frazzled and stressed. You dont need more responsibilities. But dont worry; this wont make you look irresponsible and incapable. If you have a hard time saying no to extra work, simply think of all the work you need to do and the time you dont have to accommodate more work.

Stress Management Tip # 5: Get help. You might want to talk to a friend or a loved one to help you vent out your frustrations or perhaps even distract you from whats causing your stress. Acknowledge that youre not capable of doing everything, and dont be afraid to get help around the office too.

These stress management tips dont sound too hard, do they? Once you get stress under control, youll be able to work more efficiently and then go on to enjoy a happy and fulfilling life.

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SEO Training Course with Sitepoint SEO Business Guide

Optimizing a website to get the best rankings possible for certain keywords can be complicated. I've started reading up about it and there are plenty of contradicting schools of thought on this subject. For a beginner like me, it is therefore hard to make any progress whatsoever. Of course, you can choose to follow only one guru or coach or whatever you call them but what would happen to you if what you are following is not really the best?

This is why I think a good SEO training course is the best thing for SEO newbies to look into. At the same time, we should not only be looking at any SEO business course just because. If you have no need for it, why should you spend money for such a course? Also, I have this belief that I can only truly learn how to optimize a website for search engines from people who have already been there and done that.

That said, I think that Sitepoint's SEO Business Guide is the best choice for internet marketers who would like to learn the basics as well as advanced tips in search engine optimization. Unlike most SEO books or training course, this is a physical product. What's more interesting though is the fact that it is made by the people behind sitepoint.com and even flippa.com.

The aforementioned sites are not only great in terms of ranking well for many keywords but they are also managed well. Both sites are easy to use which is why I really want this course. I want to learn from these people how to integrate SEO with any business. For example, if I want my site to be flashy because my target market likes that stuff, I would like to know how I can make sure that my site is still being read by search engine spiders.

So basically, this SEO training course is not only about search engine optimization per se. It also contains information about managing a business hence the title. I would gladly recommend this to anyone looking to learn about SEO and marketing online in general.

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Learn Affiliate Marketing

Having started out as an affiliate six months ago, I had not envisaged how far I would come within this time; now, not even one year on, I am pleased to be in the position where I can pass some of my experience and advice on to anyone who is thinking about setting up their own affiliate business. It is always best to take advice from someone who has already travelled the road, and if I can help just one person to make the right decision about building their home based online business, then I am a happy affiliate.

There is so much information online about affiliate marketing and some of it is useful and some not so. You can probably pick through the bits that will prove to be liquid gold and dispense with the information that is just spam. I would start out by issuing a word of warning along these lines; just beware of the online scams because there are very many people out there who think nothing of relieiving you of your hard-earned cash. Make a simple rule, never to part with money in return for information, and you won't go far wrong. With that out of the way, let's talk about how to get you started.

There are many affiliate marketing training programs out there, all of them promising to make you an overnight success. This is not possible. It will take hard work, effort and copious amounts of time to reach your end goal; to learn affiliate marketing. You will only get out of this what you put in, so start out by investing some valuable time and resources in finding the right program from which to learn affiliate marketing.

The most reputable affiliate marketing training programs will offer the following. A comprehensive, structured plan about what you will learn and how you will learn it, so an action plan of sorts. The tools with which to learn affiliate marketing, so resources such as keyword research tools, a link-cloaking tool, and website editor or creator tools and article writing tools. Resources such as a list of website submission directories, article submission sites, social bookmarking sites, keyword lists. Comprehensive support and mentoring so this includes information and advice, hints and tips and keeping you abreast of market trends and the best techniques to use. This is about it, although the list is not exhaustive. If a program can offer you all of this and more, then you are on the right path to learn affiliate marketing the right way.

If you are not sure about how to go about finding an affiliate marketing training program then you can use the program I have suggested as a model comparison to find the right program for you. Be sure to investigate fully though, and do not part with money to find out about the program, any information about what is being offered should be free of charge. I wish you luck with your efforts to learn affiliate marketing.

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Growing your VAR Business

Given this backdrop of explosive growth opportunities, the challenges for VAR executives becomes managing for revenue growth and targeting the highest margin opportunities - in initial sales and throughout ongoing client relationships. Professional services automation software applications give VARs a competitive edge and make the difference between struggling to grow and harvesting profit from the abundant growth opportunities.

Advantages for VARs who use Professional Services Automation Software

1. Executive Insight

VAR businesses usually start by selling a primary set of products and services. As they become more successful, they add more products and services, ultimately bundling them up in ways clients want to buy them. Most VARs look at their business through "business practice" lenses - areas of marketing and delivery that bring together the multiple disciplines needed to constitute a client solution. Basic start-up system tools don't fit any more, VARs need professional services automation software tools that manage and report products the way clients buy them, through the lens of a practice.

#Example of how PSA Software can help improve executive insight

As an example of this, think of a network practice that combines elements of hardware (servers, routers, and hubs) with software (security messaging and e-mail), along with client education and even network monitoring and management.

A CEO view lists all the practices and ranks them by key performance indicators: revenue, growth rates, and margins. Practice managers can see how their projects are unfolding and with drill downs, identify what's working and what�s not.The important point is that with the help of PSA software, VARs can put their fingers on the pulse of the business and tell where the market is expanding or contracting.

2. Client Visibility: All clients are important, but in reality, some are more important to your bottom line than others. Once you understand a client�s lifetime value - revenue, projects, invoices, and opportunities with the help of a PSA software - you can shape your interactions with them better.

Look at yourself from your client's point of view

Clients see their relationship with the VAR as the sum total of their experiences with sales, receivables, service incidents and other interactions.

For a VAR, getting such specifics for even one client is usually a tedious one-off spreadsheet exercise. And when it's done, the rest of the organization usually doesn't share in the insights. As a result, the type of effective follow-up activities you want to have routinely - whether it's having an executive make a remedial call or initiating an incremental sales opportunity don't happen.

Professional services automation software changes all that. It gives executives the most critical elements of any client's transactions at a glance: practice revenues and margins, buying patterns, service incidents, and invoice payment. It gives insights about the client's experience with the VAR and shows the value the client brings to the VAR.

Using this knowledge can trigger a well placed call from a senior executive at the right time to reinforce your position and lead to a deeper relationship. It's the information you need to set priorities, ensuring you take care of your best clients and nurture the most promising ones.

#Keep tabs on ongoing interactions to improve revenue growth

Many executives measure the health of a client relationship by the number of interactions between the firms, recurring order patterns, and by increasing order size. The converse is an increasing number of calls to a support center about a repeating, nagging problem, or too many on-site visits that do not lead to any sales. Finding shifts in buying patterns through PSA software can act as an early warning system to help you prevent a good client from getting away and recognize where new strategies may reignite purchases.

#Making yourself visible to your clients increases trust

The ultimate deliverable is your ability to create trust and business value for your clients. Opening up to let clients see their own daily interactions with you saves your client time and money, and you too.

By using PSA software portal clients can answer their own questions like have my payments been received (and applied to the right invoices), which invoices are outstanding, which orders are still open (and is any delivery info available), how many service calls have been placed recently, and how many (which ones) are still open.

Once an order is placed you set up a project to design, install, get the system operational, and ultimately accepted. During the project your clients can use the PSA software portal to understand the status of a project, use it for internal reporting purposes, and use it as a communication platform.

Forward thinking VARs are using professional services automation software to monitor the acceptance process and even ensure that a project delivers on its business improvement or ROI projections. During this process, a savvy practice manager will be looking for sales opportunities for after market services.

3. Marketing Effectiveness: Capturing true marketing costs and performance improves your capture rates and minimizes wasteful spending.

There is an old marketing saw that says 50% of advertising dollars are wasted - we just don't know which 50%. Unfortunately, that principle is true for VAR marketing expenditures too. Through professional services automation software, you can collect true costs for all aspects of your lead generation efforts and compare them to sales achieved. It's powerful information that ensures winning propositions are used again and less than stellar efforts are jettisoned. Knowing the cost per lead and success rate of every campaign brings marketing operations closer to the company's mission of growing revenue and high margin opportunities.

#Watch pipeline activity to identify where you can stimulate growth

Pipelines are hard enough to manage, even if you aren't dealing with sandbagging or missed executions. Professional services automation software generates real-time reports for the sales executive, CFO, and CEO that detail the movement from proposal to order to shipment and acceptance. Reports that help you understand proposal conversion rates, internal execution, and how successful your employees are when visiting on site. Knowing this can help you identify good sales execution, spot remedial work for individual sales people, and decide what needs to be done to help cement a good relationship with a client.

#Use client feedback to productize opportunities

Every VAR maintains a support center for ongoing client support and project installations. Data from these interactions can be a treasure trove of new opportunities. PSA software identifies important call issues so you can examine them for add-on product and sales opportunities. Getting a lot of calls about start-up issues at the end user level? Perhaps an onsite introductory training class is needed. Do clients have insufficient skills in their IT departments? Maybe it's time to consider a managed services offering.

PSA software for VARs can provide the facts to make informed decisions about when to productize services for repeatable, high margin sales and to help you spot emerging areas clients are inquiring about.

#Accelerate upgrade opportunities through insight into your clients' installed environments

By its very nature, the technology industry is always racing towards the next breakthrough. Unfortunately, end user clients can't possibly keep up with the relentless adoption of the next big thing. In fact, they often don't maximize the use they get out of any piece of equipment and may not be aware of savings opportunities that come with some upgrades.

It's easier to sell when you know how and when the client buys. Many IT directors have a budgetary model that subscribes to the notion of being fully depreciated. Knowing when equipment depreciation occurs can trigger sales activities to harvest this built-in financial understanding. Creative sales executives will also see this as an opportunity to offer new contractual terms that extend beyond a single project or delivery. For example, they may take a deal off the street by replacing all of a company's PCs over a three-year period, as the systems become fully depreciated, and offering special payments terms to take the sting out of lump sum payments.

4. Internal Operations: Managing technology implementations means running projects on-time and on budget. Real time awareness can detect margin leakage before it becomes a problem.

#Tight control of new technology introductions can speed revenue and contain ramp-up costs

Becoming market ready for each new technology is not a small or inexpensive undertaking. PSA software with good project management functionality enables you to identify and control key ramp-up tasks such as obtaining licenses, employee training and certification, setting up development environments, arranging your product distribution network, and so on. Technology ramp up is a huge internal project that requires costly capital outlays and profitability often depends upon skillful project and budget management and preventing cost overruns. PSA software tools give you time and cost management insights to use to help guarantee a prepared staff and an on-time rollout at a cost you expected.

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