Beginners can sometimes feel overwhelmed when they start learning classical guitar. The technique, sight reading, interpretation and the whole complexity of the experience can make one feel a bit anxious about what proper steps should be taken to gain visible results. It doesn’t help that classical music as a whole conjures up images of snobbish people that aren’t very interested in letting someone in their private circles.

Well, it’s not like that at all. Learning classical guitar can be fun and rewarding if you keep in mind the things we will be discussing in this article. and no, it’s not mandatory to wear your tuxedo, pull out a monocle and start speaking in a “highbrow” tone.

Jumping straight into complicated material is one of the biggest mistakes that beginners make and it leads only to frustration. Imagine for a second that you are trying to work on your car’s engine with the blueprint in front of you. Now, if you have never taken an auto mechanic course and don’t know much about how engines work you won’t get very far. You might be able to figure out where certain parts are by looking at the blueprint but you’ll have no idea what exactly they do and how you should fix them.

If your car engine would be your guitar playing, then your blueprints would be the sheet music. But there is another component that must be brought into the mix for things to work. Either take classical guitar lessons or teach yourself using a classical guitar method such as the one by Mateo Carcassi or Sagreras.

These books have been written in such a way as to gradually give you tangible results. Because they are method books, they teach the student in a progressive and correct way, and as a result you may find yourself tackling your favorite piece easily and with great results. They use exercises as well as “studies” (musical pieces devoted to teaching you a certain technique) to build your technical as well as interpretative skills. Besides teaching technique, methods also facilitate intimate knowledge of your instrument, which is just a fancy way of saying that you will know your guitar inside and out. But can you really teach yourself classical guitar? Yes, you can. Two of the greatest classical guitar players ever, Tarrega and Segovia, where self taught.

In the beginning it is a good idea to spend at least half of your practice time doing exercises. This will help you become more limber on the guitar and you will also see great progress in the pieces you’re working on.

After you get a classical guitar method and you start working it, the next step is getting some material so you can build your repertoire. Pick carefully so that you balance your own personal taste with the level of the piece. In other words, the piece you choose should be one that you like and at the level that you can handle technically.

You may go to a gym wanting to be Arnold Schwarzenegger, however trying to weight lift 250 pounds when you can barely get 70 pounds off the ground isn’t the way to do it. If you do attempt it, instead of bigger muscles you will probably end up in the hospital. It’s the same thing that’s happening when you attempt to play pieces that are way above your current level. Having said that, it should be noted that it’s good to get pieces that challenge you a little bit. This makes you grow. You will have to use your good judgment as to what constitutes challenging. Just like getting a hernia isn’t a muscle building technique, playing way above your level will only lead to failure and frustration.

Because of the nature of baroque music and of his compositions, Bach’s works are extremely conducive towards gaining great balance and technique on the instrument. Therefore, any student would benefit immensely by learning from the master’s material. Bach’s pieces are also great for developing great tone and they are fun to play. For example: Prelude BWV999 (originally for lute), while incredibly beautiful in its sound is also great for working with the fretboard hand because it is based on a series of chord progressions combined with a loosely melodic bass line.

If you don’t own a metronome, GET ONE! Learn to play slow and in time with it. This way you will form all the right reflexes and once you move the material up to speed the difference will be clear. Arguably, mastering rhythm with a metronome is an essential quality that will separate the amateur from the pro. To the people that may scoff at this and not understand the true importance of working with a metronome, think of it this way: imagine something as simple as a person walking across a hallway. If I ask you to describe them you would probably tell me what they looked like, what they had on and so forth. Now imagine another person walking across the hallway, but this guy is very shaky on his feet, he sometimes double steps, stumbles and flails his hands about trying to keep balance while walking. If I asked you to describe this guy, you’d probably tell me that he had a crazy walk, and he couldn’t walk straight etc.. That would be the impression that would stick with you. Same with your rhythm skills. If you don’t master them, people won’t be able to remember or appreciate your playing because their attention will constantly be distracted by the tempo stumbling and bumbling about.

If you follow the steps noted above you will see great improvement in your overall classical guitar playing. Not only will this affect your playing but also your enjoyment of the instrument. As you follow this route you will see results and feel satisfaction. Like a veil being lifted, you will be able to see the path you must follow and pretty soon you will be tackling with great ease and elegance the piece that seemed so hard a while back. As always, if you need some advice as to the material you should be pursuing, or what book you should get, feel free to drop me a line.

There are many ways to look sexy and shapely under your clothes; the most common of which are dieting and exercising. Many women would go for hours in the gym just to achieve the figure they desire. But sometimes you realize that these are not enough when you see the bumps and curves in all the wrong places.

But now you dont have to break a sweat just to get that hourglass shape. You can wear a girdle a garment that gives your body that svelte, sexy figure. Girdles are usually made of elastic material that molds and smoothes from your underbust to your waist and hips, sometimes up to your thighs.

Girdles were especially famous during the 40s and 50s, where having that small waistline was the in-thing. Whereas girdles were items of glamour and vanity then, they are now functional and must-have lingerie for women. If you need to control problem areas especially at the waist and hips, you can wear a girdle under your clothes. It gives a smoother look at the tummy area and oftentimes straightens your back, improving your posture. And because it addresses the usual problems of visible bulges and flabs, the girdle helps boost your confidence and makes you feel better about yourself.

Nowadays there are different kinds of girdles sold in the market. There are those called panty girdles that slim your tummy and enhances the shape of your bottoms, while there are the long leg panty girdles that shape up to your thighs. An open-bottom girdle with an open crotch design helps hide your big belly. Expectant moms can also wear what is called a maternity girdle that supports their growing belly and offers relief to their backs.

If youre thinking of buying one, just remember that the girdle you should choose must be one that addresses your problem areas. And it must also fit you properly it shouldnt be too tight, or else your curves will look unnatural, not to mention that it will make you feel uncomfortable rather that sexy and beautiful.

Girdles are pretty much a fashion essential for women today. You can wear it during ordinary days and especially under your event wear, so its nice to have a couple of them inside your lingerie drawer. Girdles can make you look smooth and sexy instantly, and are the perfect confidence booster for every woman.

As the weather gets better all our thoughts turn to warm summer nights, holidays, bikinis, trunks and skimpy clothes and your flabby bits. There are so many ways to lose weight and we are bombarded by a multi billion pound diet industry that just seems to keep us fat after all that is how they make their money. So how can we battle the bulge?

Gyms are full of sweaty people that fall into two categories;

1) Fanatics with beautiful bodies and pitying looks at the rest of us as they get
their moneys worth from the fee of 50 upwards a month and for 12
months which = 600

2) Pitiful quitters who end up paying 600 for 5 visits which = 120 a go

Gym equipment when researched can be much more cost effective if you have the room and like watching the TV channel you like whilst exercising. Researching specialist sites is confusing and doesnt give you an overview of all types of equipment and all budgets. Littlewoods.com has a great selection and is far superior to Argos and other online retailers. You can compare the cost of each type of equipment and Littlewoods also give you 15 off your first order over 25 quote ZG134 or spread your costs by paying weekly over 20 weeks or 52 weeks at 0% interest if you like to control your spending and need help with the discipline of budgeting.

Carl Lewis motorised treadmill which is the most used piece of equipment in the gym and gives the fastest results in weight loss costs 359 spread over 52 weeks with 0% interest this is 6.90 a week. This equates to the cost of cutting back on 2 pints or your Costa coffee weekly bill.

The Littlewoods catalogue site shows the best sellers and compares prices. A bike typically found in spin class which burns 1000 calories an hour was reduced by 52 and cost 127 and is 2.44 a week. A cross trainer is another favourite in the gym and will give you the honed, toned sexy look for summer we all crave.

Dog walking (your own or other peoples)

The grateful loving look from your four legged friend and fresh air cannot be underestimated as a stress and weight buster. Walking with a pair of MBT trainers that I found on Littlewoods catalogue site have toned my bum and thighs up incredibly. I have reduced my thigh measurement by 3 inches in 6 weeks, my arms by 2 inches and my waist by 4 inches without changing my diet.

Walking for an hour a day does not cause injuries found in the gym, with runners or mad joggers. It exercises your whole body if you get the technique and footwear correct. Waling longer walks at the weekend lets you explore the countryside but an absolute must is a great pair of walking boots. Brasher are not the prettiest but are like slippers and need no breaking in. Littlewoods online stock all the top makes of walking boots and if you buy walking poles then you get an upper body workout and it takes the strain off your knees coming downhill. Cost of a decent pair of boots or trainers is 100 spread over 52 weeks as Littlewoods offer mentioned above is 2. But you do need a nice place to walk or it is back to the living room, watching coronation street burning fat on my new treadmill.

The oblique muscles are the muscles located on the sides of your waist. There are 2 sets of oblique muscles the internal oblique and the external oblique. The external oblique lies on top of the internal and when someone is in really good shape, you can see the fibers of the external oblique.

The external obliques run from the back of the lower ribs down to the pelvis, and the internal obliques run from the pelvis up to the lower ribs. Both muscles will work to pull your spine forwards like in crunches, but if you really want to emphasize the obliques, you must add in rotational movements or side-bending movements. Below are 4 of the best oblique exercises that use the side bending motion.

Because the obliques are located primarily on the sides of your body, they really work hard when you do side-bending movements. Some of the best side-bending movements are standing dumbbell side bends, side bends on a 45 degree back extension machine, side crunches on a stability ball, and moving side planks.

Standing side bends are pretty simple to perform, and you can do them with one dumbbell or 2 dumbbells. If you use 1 dumbbell, place the opposite hand behind your head and lean towards the side with the weight until you feel a good stretch in your obliques. With 2 dumbbells, you will simply alternate sides.

If you belong to a gym or fitness center, you will likely be able to find a 45 degree back extension board. This exercise is usually much harder than dumbbell side bends because your body weight is usually heavier than the dumbbells you might use during standing side bends. In order to do this exercise, you simple secure your feet on the bottom platform and then lean down towards the floor until you feel a good stretch in your obliques. If this exercise becomes easy you can add a weight to your hand to increase the resistance.

Side crunches on a stability ball can be a tricky exercise to master, but your obliques will definitely get a ton of work. The challenge for most people is staying on the ball. Bring a stability ball next to a wall and place your feet at the base of the wall to help secure your body. Then, with your hands behind your head, you should crunch up to the side over the contour of the ball. The contour of the ball will give you more range of motion for your obliques to work, and the instability of the ball will make your core muscles work harder.

Moving side planks are also a great oblique exercise. Simply, balance on your side with your elbow and your feet. Once you feel stable, lower your hip towards the floor until you feel a stretch in your obliques and then use your muscles to lift back up towards the ceiling.

These are some of the best oblique exercises, but there are many great exercises for your obliques. Just remember that the obliques are emphasized with side-bending movements and rotational movements.

When you go into any modern day gym, it is hard to recognize what the true reason for physical training is. Everyone is talking about burning calories, building specific muscle groups, maximizing their workouts with scientific date, etc. Now don’t get me wrong, burning fat and building a functionally muscular body are great goals. I just think we could learn something from Ancient Warriors that would make out training even better.

Modern Training Has Lost Its Roots

The truth is, the history of physical training, or working out, is based in war. Ancient warriors would train so they would be prepared to protect themselves, their families and their property from attack.

Their training was not so much about looking better, but performing better. I think modern day exercisers should take this cue from Ancient Warriors.

Physical Training Is Initially About Survival

Training, and getting the physical improvements from training, was not about looking good in spandex or taking your shirt off at the beach. Their motivation for training was nothing less than SURVIVAL. If you were unfit, you didn’t survive!

Talk about a great motivator to use the best methods and get really great results! If they failed to have the physical abilities necessary to defend themselves… they would pay the ultimate price. Imagine workout out as if your life depended on it. (By the way it does, just most people have lost sight of it or don’t view it with any urgency).

The Reason Combining Bodyweight And Dumbbell Workouts Is Best

When you think about Ancient Warriors, what image comes to mind. For me, I see a strong fit individual with some type of weight objects (weapons) in their hands. So, if you were training to be a better warrior, how would you train? Does combining bodyweight exercise and dumbbell training come to mind?

Forget about what the bodybuilding community tells you about training muscles. Exercise is really about movement. Two types of movement really… The movement of your own body AND the movement of objects.

Bodyweight calisthenics are the best way to train your body to move in the way it most naturally moves. Every movement of the body can be trained and improved with bodyweight exercises.

On the other hand, dumbbells are the best way to train the body to move objects. You can use dumbbells in unison, one limb at a time or in an alternating manner. These movements with weighted resistance are closely related to the way you move in the real world. So, training with dumbbells leads to more improvements you can actually use to meet the challenges of sport, work and life.

Just like an Ancient Warrior, combining bodyweight and dumbbell workouts are the best way to build a strong, attractive and functional body.

If you want to get real fitness, fat loss and physique building results you can use in the real world, combining bodyweight and dumbbells is a great option. Forget about strapping yourself into some machine that has no relation to any movement you’ll do in the real world. Act as if you life depended on getting results (it does), and use the best tools for the job.

If I needed to get results, I’d do what the Ancient warriors instinctively knew. I’d combine bodyweight exercises and hand help weighted resistance to build a strong, body that performs well regardless of what life throws at me.