The Nissan Leaf is the stuff of science fiction. An actual, no-kidding, all-electric car, costing less than $35,000 and aimed at regular consumers. Yet Nissan opted to wrap this revolutionary ride in excitement-repelling protoplasm. It’s the stuff of Amazing Stories magazine, if you’d take out the cyborgs and time travel, and replaced “amazing” with “sort of interesting.” “Back to the Future” without the flux capacitor, Comic-Con without costumes. The arrival of a mass-produced electric vehicle (EV), sans gas tank or tail pipes, should feel momentous. You’re not spewing bad stuff into the sky. (The same can’t be said about energy production itself, but still.) The act of driving the Leaf oddly belies this buzz, feeling like a run-of-the-mill hybrid. A slightly down-market Toyota Prius, perhaps. Run out for pizza and by the third mile you’ve forgotten the historical significance and are wishing the seats were a bit better cushioned. There’s method in this (lack of) madness. Nissan is making a huge bet on EVs, with the potential to eventually produce several hundred thousand worldwide. Happy #LEAFBady

Nissan Leaf Runs 99 MPG on $35,000

This is a guest post by Alain Gonzalez. What if I told you that you could lose weight and look bigger and more muscular at the same time? You would probably walk away laughing and continue following the same routine that has been doing you no good for quite some time now. You see, building muscle alone is not enough when trying to get an overall muscular frame and/or beach body as some may say. Lets use abs as an example, you can perform 1 million crunches a day but until that body fat covering your midsection is cut, your results will go unnoticed. Take someone who has never done a crunch in their life but has cut the belly fat out of the picture, guaranteed this person will look much more muscular and defined that the one wasting their time with crunches. If you and I both walked around carrying 120 pounds of muscle mass and you simply carried 5 percent more body fat than I did, I would easily look much larger and muscualr than you did. Look at bodybuilders for instance, on their off season, heavyweights will easily gain 20-30 pounds (mostly fat) and keep all the muscle underneath. But notice how much larger they look while leaning out and prepairing for a show. Think about it, they just cut 20-30 pounds and because all the fat was cut, they look much larger. My point is simply this, if you are trying to achieve an overall muscular look, remember to focus the same amount of attention on keeping a low body fat as you do lifting weights and building muscle. I promise this will make your journey to getting the body of your dreams that much easier. With that being said, here are a few rules you can follow in order to maintain or achieve a low body fat. Proper Diet: Consuming foods that contain simple carbohydrates, dairy, or whites/flour will not only increase fat storage but will also make you look bloated. These foods give you what I like to call the "thick skin effect". I recommend getting your carbohydrates from clean complex sources such as oatmeal and whole grains. The protein intake should come from high quality lean meats like chicken breast, fish, and turkey. Now, your fats may be the most important, they should only come from natural sources. These sources include mixed nuts, avocados, and flaxseed oil. Not only will eating clean increase muscle mass but it will also aid in burning belly fat. Although there is no such thing as training for spot reduction, dieting to target belly fat is in fact possible due to some of the ingredients found in these foods. Fat Burning Activity: You will burn fat more easily and efficiently by following this diet, so, add in a fat burning activity to speed up those results. Forget what you may have heard in the past about "target heart rate" for fat burn, your only goal is to burn through more calories than you're consuming. As for the fat burning/physical activity you choose, that will be totally up to you. Here are a few options in order for you to choose wich approach works best for you and your schedule. Traditional cardio Jogging Running Walking Using the treadmill is a great form of traditional cardio activity that you can perform. 45 minutes to an hour is ideal when using this technique for fat burn. If you are like myself and like to perform your traditional cardio following a strenuous workout routine, I would not recommend more than 20-30 minutes in order to avoid muscle wastage. Advanced cardio: Circuit Training - if you want to cut half the time from a traditional cardio workout, incorporate a little more intensity by trying HIIT or circuit training. You can achieve maximum results with circuit training with as little and 15-20 minutes. I would not recommend performing a circuit training routine immediately following a strenuous workout. Circuit training is extremely intense and should be performed at peak energy levels for best results. If you are looking for a good circuit training routine to follow here is one I follow and have gotten great results from: Push ups (15 seconds) Rest (15 seconds) Mountain Climbers (15 seconds) Rest (15 Seconds) High Knees (15 seconds) Rest (15 seconds) Half Burpees (15 seconds) Rest (15 seconds) Squats (15 seconds) Rest (15 seconds) Jump Squats (15 seconds) Rest (1 minute) Repeat Speeding up your metabolism You should consider breaking your meals into 6 smaller portions each day in order to keep your metabolism pumping. This is sure to turn your body into a fat burning machine and keep that metabolism working hard because it is metabolizing every 2 to 3 hours. You will get proper nutrition by fueling your body this way and it will also help you retain your muscle mass as well as help you in burning fat literally while you sleep. A few extra tips: -To cut down on water retention, consume a gallon of water each day. -Before you eat anything in the morning, start out with your cardio routine. -Vegetables should be the main source of carbohydrates in your diet. To achieve your fitness goals and get the body your working so hard for, follow these outlined steps and you will soon be looking much more muscular overall. Burning the fat is the easy part, the challenge lies in keeping it off. You will only be causing yourself a set back if you do not develop a consistent routine, as this will be the key to your success with any fitness goal. About the Author: Alain Gonzalez is a fitness enthusiast whose muscle building transformation has inspired hardgainers all over the world. His story has been featured on a number of sites all over the net and his recently released ebook titled “Bony to Brawny” has been a huge success in helping others achieve results similar to his own. He is the founder of http://www.MuscleMonsters.com and uses this website to give out free weight gain tips for hardgainers like himself.

Burn Fat and Gain Mass – Secret to Losing Weight and Looking Bigger

It happens to a lot of people. They start a new workout routine and feel good that they are exercising again. After a period of time, they step on the scale or look in the mirror and nothing has really changed in terms of weight and shaping up. What could the problem be? If you're in that situation, the below may help you get back on track and start making some real progress. Set Deadlines It's easy to set goals but reaching them is another story. If you have goals of losing weight, building muscle, etc., then give yourself a deadline. Your goals will feel much more urgent if you have a date to get them done by. Stop Rewarding Yourself with Junk Food What we eat plays an important role in our results. Keep eating junk and no matter how much you exercise, you will either maintain your weight or gain more weight. Yet, it is common to want to reward ourselves with a fast food meal, ice cream, etc., after a hard workout because we think we deserve it. These little rewards can ruin all of your work and they add up if you are rewarding yourself a few times a week. Stay Consistent The fact that you are exercising is great but not if you are working out for one week and then taking off the next week. It's important to get into a good routine by exercising consistently several times each week. Taking a break here and there is fine but going long periods in between workouts will not get results. Break Through Your Plateau Maybe you have been working out consistently and eating healthy too but still aren't seeing results. You may have reached a plateau because you have been doing the same workout for too long. Our bodies need challenge to keep progressing so change up your routine with new exercises and more intensity. I am using P90X and it is geared towards avoiding plateaus. Give It Your All A lot of times, whether or not we can do one more rep or run one more lap is more mental than physical. If you are truly exhausted then by all means, don't push yourself more than necessary. However, it is still important to push ourselves to do a little more each workout. Have you changed something in your own workouts that have made a difference in your results?

Not Seeing Results From Working Out? Here’s Why

Do you find yourself eating the wrong foods more than you like? It's all too easy to go through a drive-thru when you're craving something salty, sweet, crunchy, etc. My weakness is for sweets. I'm the type of person that likes having dessert after dinner. Eating junk food on a regular basis can have a negative impact on our bodies, primarily in the form of weight gain. There was a point in my life where I would eat fast food several times a week. I felt sluggish, bloated, and the more I ate it, the less I was motivated to do much of anything else. Why bother exercising when I already ate poorly the entire day? Below are some tips that may help you stop the cravings for junk food and crave foods that are healthier. 1. Change where you shop for food - Local supermarkets are fine but if you live near a health food market, try shopping there for most of your meals. These types of markets have healthier alternatives to most foods. You won't (at least shouldn't) find junk like cupcakes and cheese puffs. 2. Pack a cooler of healthy food - Many times, it's tempting to pull into a fast food restaurant because you're short on time and hungry. Keep a small cooler in your car packed with healthy sandwiches and snacks. When that temptation hits, you can grab something from your cooler and pass right by those fast food places. 3. Cook your own meals - Common sense right? It really does work. The more you get into the habit of preparing healthy meals, the easier it becomes, and the less you will crave the junk. 4. Choose your snacks wisely - Do you tend to crave salty snacks or sweet cake treats? Find alternatives to satisfy those cravings. This is where a health food store will come in handy. Keep healthy alternatives stocked, especially if you live with someone who likes to keep junk food in the house. You can reach for your food and feel less tempted to eat their junk. Those are just some tips that may help to stop cravings. What has helped you?

Simple Ways to Help Stop Cravings for Junk Food