There are six basic aspects of any abdominal workout routine you must master to obtain the six pack abs you have been chasing. You can do crunches until you toss your dinner and not meet your goal of a beautiful set of six pack abs. You have to use a comprehensive approach that addresses nutrition (diet), water intake, supplementation, exercises protocol, proper sleep rhythms, and the detoxification of your body. If you do all of these things you will acquire a six pack of abs and a nice set of obliques to frame around them.

Nutrition

It does not mater what your workout goal is, you will never obtain a set of defined abs if you do not eat properly. I am not talking about just skipping the fast food crap. I mean carbs, protein, and the right time to load up on each.

If you have extra weight to lose, you should be careful not to restrict your calories to much when working out. Just restrict the starchy carbs and useless calories like all sugars.

If you restrict calories too much you will lose muscle and water, not the fat cells you want to shed. Eating a meal that contains complex carbohydrates like rice, pasta, bagels, fresh fruit, or baked potatoes about 30-60 minutes before your workout will provide a more sustained energy level and the carbohydrates that you need to keep your blood sugar level up. Also consume organic food whenever possible.

What you eat after your workout is just as important as what your have before. You are going to need the same types of carbohydrates, but you will need to add some protein for muscle repair and growth. I would suggest a recovery meal.

The recovery meal serves two purposes: 1) It replaces lost carbs and influences the amount of cortisol (a hormone which reacts to stress) your body will release. 2) It loads up amino acids into your muscle to begin the re-building of muscle tissue. If you miss this window of opportunity you will not gain muscle and lose body fat as fast.

Cortisol – Increases blood pressure, blood sugar and reduces immune responses.

All Mighty Water

Hydration is an often overlooked aspect of all workout routines. If you do not consume enough water while working out or for that matter during your entire day you have wasted your time and may have caused damage to yourself. Not enough water equals dehydration.

Drinking sugary/sports drinks, caffeinated beverages only dehydrate your body quicker. You should try to drink 7 to 10 ounces of room temperature water every 20 minutes while working out.

Water helps to regulate your body temperature; deliver oxygen to your muscle tissues by keeping blood volume elevated. It also assists the kidneys in removing biological wastes, and enhances with fat burning and muscle growth. A good rule to follow is to drink ½ of your body weight in ounces per day.

Supplements

If you are considering taking a supplement to put on a little more muscle, it’s important to take stock of your lifestyle before forking over a dime. If you’re not eating right, getting enough sleep, cutting back on stress and exercising regularly, meaning at least a couple of times a week, supplements are not going to do a whole lot for you.

You cannot expect to slack elsewhere and have these pills or powders make it up for you. You have protein powder, creatine, glutamine, multi-vitamins, fish oils and amino acids to start with.

Protein is the most recognized muscle building supplement in the world. It is available in whey, soy, casein, and egg. Which is best for you? Whey – I would stay away from soy and use hemp if you are a vegetarian. Use what is available to you. You will want to look at your goal for your protein first.

Each of these four is absorbed at a different pace. Whey is great for a post-workout meal because it is absorbed within 30 minutes. Then comes egg and casein (milk) which are absorbed over a period of 1.5 to 7 hours. Either of these before bed will provide a great source of protein for muscle repair and growth while you sleep. Soy protein is an overall source, but due to the estrogenic proprieties of soy I would use hemp milk instead. Most serious bodybuilders/athletes will take a combination of all of these protein supplements for maximum benefit.

Creatine is a naturally occurring substance in your body. The basics behind creatine supplements are that they cause an increase in the amount of ATP (the main energy source for muscles) in your body. More ATP means more reps and sets at higher weight. This means quicker muscle building. This supplement should be cycled though. It is best to take it for four weeks and then take two weeks off.

Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in muscle tissues. It helps to eliminate muscle wasting and improve your muscles recovery time. Amino acid supplements should always contain branched-chain amino acids to give you better results. Make sure that you do not take creatine and glutamine at the same time. They compete for receptors on muscle cells and will cancel each other out. Take glutamine pre-workout and creatine post-workout.

The reasons to take a multi-vitamin are obvious. A lack in any mineral or vitamin can really hamper your progress and limit muscle growth and retention. You really cannot neglect any of the supplements and expect top results.

Exercises

A full program of muscle development is obvious to get a set of abs. Simple routines that you will adhere to work the best. An overall program plus a good core workout that includes movements for the abs are all important in obtaining six pack abs. Abdominal exercises that will lead you to six pack abs and a set of well defined obliques to frame it.

Sleep and Body Detoxification

You must get enough sleep, period. Your muscles grow and repair themselves during your sleep periods. Your energy stores and blood sugar levels restore themselves while you sleep. Depriving yourself of sufficient rest is the same as depriving yourself of muscle mass and definition.

Why workout if you are not going to have enough recovery time and end up wasting the effort. Detoxifying your body is important for the proper flow of nutrients to the muscles and the needed elimination of the by-products of muscle strain and growth. Driving these toxins out of your body will help to increase blood flow to the muscles. Every bodybuilder knows the benefits of a better blood flow.

In addition to eliminating the obvious bad guys like caffeine, alcohol, and fatty foods, you need to lower your stress levels. Meditation and “quiet times” are very helpful for overall body harmony.

David Grisaffi

These days, body building is an in thing as everyone wants to look trendy and attractive. The desire to own a fit and muscular body has always been there in men not only to look good and stay healthy but also to attract the opposite sex. There are various supplementary diets, which are required to make the body healthy and muscular. Some of the important minerals and vitamins, which are needed to build a good body, are found in the body itself. However, this may not be adequate for people who want to build a muscular body and for them it is recommended that they take protein and vitamin supplements for the same purpose. In addition to that, having a healthy diet also becomes very helpful to build a healthy body without having to invest too much of time and effort. A Body building enhancer comes in various tastes and are certain to have two important elements namely creatine and glutamine.

creatine helps a lot in body building by enhancing the human body with a lot of power on which the body depends.

Glutamine on the other hand is known to repair tissues in human body which may suffer from excessive burnouts and rupture due to too much workouts. It is actually a form of amino acid which helps the body builder and sportsmen to build a muscular body rapidly.

There are many legal steroids available in the market in the form of tablets, external gels, or in liquid form. Tapping the benefits of legal steroids is nowadays an accepted form of building body and maintaining style in the glamour world. Some of them are duplicate hormones, which increase the protein elements in our body, and enhances a rapid development of muscle cells. There are illegal steroids as well, quite similar to their legal counterparts. However, before terming them as legal or illegal, one has to understand the requirement of it for the body and the benefits derived from it, off course keeping in mind the side effects. Some of the steroids are used to treat difficult diseases of the body and they are a blessing to the mankind and such steroids can be safely termed as legal.

Also available are herbal male hormone boosters which are known to increase endogenous testosterone. The function of testosterone in the human body is to give muscularity, male qualities, hoarse voice, hairy body and other manly qualities. It also helps the body to grow rapidly in height as well.

Creatine is unlike any other supplement.Creatine is not a mineral, vitamin, hormone or herb. It is a natural amino acid found in our body with the chemical name methyl guanidine-acetic acid. Most of the nearly 95% is in the muscles of skeletal system and 5% is in heart, brain and testis. Creatine Monohydrate is mostly acquired by consuming fish etc.

Megancashton

Everyone has either heard of or is familiar with the sport of competitive bodybuilding. The female component, which is known as women bodybuilding, began in the late 1970s as women began to participate in competitions. Now, more than three decades later, women bodybuilding is a large part of the sport and has begun to garner the respect that it has strived for since it’s inception.

Although physique contests for women can actually be documented in the 1960s, they were little more than bikini contests. The first true women bodybuilding competition is regarded as the one held in Canton, Ohio in 1978. Promoted by Henry McGhee, the first United States Women’s National Physique Championship was the first competition where the entrants were judged solely on their muscularity as opposed to how well they looked in swimsuits.

By 1979, more women bodybuilding competitions were being held. The sport, however, did not possess a sanctioning body until 1980. Known as the National Physique Committee, this organization hosted the first women’s nationals and became the top amateur level competition for women bodybuilding in the United States. Additionally, 1980 marked the first Ms. Olympia competition, which is the most honored competition for women bodybuilding professionals.

As the sport continued to grow and increase in overall popularity, competitors found themselves needing to train harder and improve their overall muscular physique. By the 1980s, women bodybuilding was no longer a bikini contest or seeing who could pose in the highest heels. Now, it was becoming a popular sport with championship titles and increasing fan attendance.

With films that have been produced in honor of women bodybuilding competitions, coverage on major television networks and despite some controversies along the way, women Bodybuilding has more than proven it’s ability to remain in the ranks of this popular sport. As further proof, the IFBB established a Hall of Fame in 1999, which would honor bodybuilding’s top athletes. To date, 14 women bodybuilding competitors have been inducted. Among them, Carla Dunlap, Cory Everson and Rachel McLish, Bev Francis, Lisa Lyon and Abbye Stockton, Kay Baxter, Diana Dennis, Kike Elomaa, Laura Combes, Lynn Conkwright, Ellen Van Maris, Stacy Bentley and Claudia Wilbourn.

In late 2004, the IFBB introduced a new rule that required women bodybuilding participants decrease their amount of muscularity by 20%, which is now referred to simply as the ‘20% rule.’ The rule applies to those whose physique requires the decrease. In 2005, another rule was introduced that would abolish the weight class system beginning with the 2005 Ms. Olympia.

In addition to women bodybuilding, there are two additional categories that are closely related and often held as part of the same event. The fitness competition includes a swimsuit round, along with a round that has the entrants judged on their performance in aerobics, dance or gymnastics. The second category is a figure competition, which is a newer format, and has the participants being judged exclusively on their symmetry and muscle tone. This category focuses less on muscle size than does women bodybuilding.

Although women bodybuilding has continued to grow in popularity, the prize money remains significantly less than is awarded to male bodybuilders.

Cristi
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/women-bodybuilding-then-and-now-55621.html

Cardio exercise machines are excellent for people who are unable to get outside to exercise. Using exercise machines are a great way to condition your body, but natural exercise is the most effective way to lose those extra pounds and inches quickly. These exercise machines are related to cardiovascular and aerobic workouts. The latest exercise machines are so well rounded that they can act as an entire gym in one unit. Because of all their advantages, sales of exercise machines are booming. Also, exercise machines are becoming more adaptable for residential use.

Peeling of pounds and building muscle tone through fitness training are important goals. Staying in shape makes us look and feel better, which is why health clubs and fitness centers are so popular. Many exercise scientists contend that natural training technologies such as free weights and body resistance movements like running uphill are best for achieving higher fitness levels fast. But remember natural exercise helps achieve fitness goals faster because of the extra muscle required to keep the body moving in balance.

Elliptical Exercise Machines

Elliptical exercise machines are becoming more and more popular and sophisticated in their overall design since their introduction in the 90s. The reason for their popularity is the low-impact design and total body workout these machines provide. Elliptical exercise machines provide an incredibly effective fat-burning workout without the pounding and jarring associated with treadmill running. Elliptical machines with built in, programmable computers and heart rate monitors help ensure that you are getting the most out of your cardiovascular workouts.

Elliptical Trainers are designed to provide a total body workout rather than just isolated areas as with other conventional exercise equipment like cycles and rowing machines. You stand with your feet on small, movable platforms (the foot pedals) which move up and down in an elliptical orbit as you pedal on the machine. The movement is smooth and flowing and in the same elliptical pattern that the human foot follows when we walk or run. Some people compare the workout they get on elliptical exercise machines to pedaling on a stationary bike while standing up. Home gym owners of any fitness level appreciate the low impact workouts and cardiovascular benefits of elliptical exercise machines.

Powered Treadmills

The much publicized health benefits of walking, which is a basic exercise, no doubt are contributing to the increased sales of home-use treadmills and other aerobic equipment among the 45-to 65-year old age group. Treadmills are a very popular first choice for individuals seeking to purchase home gym exercise equipment. And for good reason: they provide many of the fitness, cardiovascular, and weight loss benefits of treadmills without the ‘wear and tear’ associated with running. One obvious point that is in favor of treadmills is that it provides a better training experience for a dedicated runner/jogger than an elliptical trainer. As with elliptical trainers, treadmills work the large muscles of the body, allowing for a superior workout. As with home treadmills and home ellipticals, there are specific features that you should look for when purchasing a commercial treadmill or commercial elliptical — primarily the quality of the motor, deck, flywheel, track and control system.

If you feel exercise “machines” are your cup of carbohydrates, give this section a go. Experts agree that weight-bearing activities such as jogging and aerobics are necessary to maintain healthy bone density. To lose fat in your stomach area you need to do aerobic exercises and eat healthy. Fat burning exercises are the slow, aerobic, long duration types of exercise that involve most of the major muscle groups. These fitness machines will give you the slow, aerobic, longduration types of exercise that work best to burn fat.

bodybuilding Supplements

Are you looking for results from your bodybuilding supplements that you would receive from steroids, without all of the harmful side effects of the drugs. The best way to reform your long, inclined or bursting muscles, to build the body of your desired shape with the help of safe supplements or the weight trimming course is advised. Many guys who workout do take muscle or Bodybuilding supplements to help them wih their muscle growth. Bodybuilding supplements may also be used to improve sports performance and improve recovery from events and training.

Paul Rodgers

You don’t have to join the gym in order to get a muscular body. There are many reasons that contribute to one’s need to stay at home. Stuck at home with things to look after? Can’t be bothered going to the gym after work? Don’t have the money to join the gym? Whatever your reason is, exercising at home is still viable for Bodybuilding. You can choose when and what you want to do without having the stress of other peoples’ eyes looking at you. Simply put, you can have your own free gym membership in your own home. Look around your house. You’ll see many things you can use to exercise!

1. Abdominals Training

A. Air Bike – Lie on your back and put your hands behind your head. Raise your legs so your thighs are perpendicular to the floor while your lower legs are parallel to the floor. Curl up and bring your left elbow toward your right side while drawing your right knee in to meet it.

B. Crunches – Lie flat on your back with your feet flat on the ground, or resting on a bench with your knees bent at a 90 degrees angle. Place your hands lightly on either side of your head, keeping your elbows in. Begin to roll your shoulders off the floor. Your shoulders should come up off the floor only about four inches, and your lower back should remain on the floor. Hold it there for five seconds. Return to starting position and repeat.

2. Biceps Training

A. Concentration Curl – Sit on the sofa, spread your legs apart into a V and lean forward slightly. Grasp the dumbbell in one hand with your palm facing upward. Rest your elbow on the inside of your thigh and let the dumbbell hang. Slowly curl the weight up while keeping the torso, upper arm and elbow still. You can substitute the dumbbell using a kettle filled with water (Vary the amount of liquid within the kettle for varying weights).

B. Bicep Curl – Hold two dumbbells at arm’s length and stand with your legs shoulder-width apart. Turn your palms up and curl both dumbbells up toward your shoulder. Keep your upper arms against your side at all times! When you reach the top, rotate your wrists so that your palm faces almost straight down. Go back to the starting position and repeat.

3. Calves Training

A. Calf Raises – Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart. Raise yourself onto your tip-toe and hold yourself there for ten seconds. Slowly return to starting position. Repeat for ten to fifteen repetitions. You can carry a fully loaded backpack if you want to increase the intensity of the workout.

4. Chest

A. Push Ups – Kneel down on the floor and place your hands flat on the floor and slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Move your feet back, placing your toes on the floor, so that your knees are off the floor and your legs are straight. At this point, your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles. Lower yourself to a position almost touching the floor, but never doing so, stay there for five seconds, then return to starting position. Throughout the whole motion, the movement should be well-controlled without any jerks or sudden movements. Your body should remain straight throughout this exercise. You can vary the positions of your hands to target different parts of your chest.

5. Hamstring

A. Leg-Curl – Load your legs with wrap-around ankle weights, then lie on your belly on your bed, with your legs hanging from the side of the bed. Then, lift your legs into a 90-degrees position with respect to the bed and slowly return your legs to starting position in a controlled manner. Repeat this motion with sets of 10. You can increase the intensity by increasing the weight of your ankle weights.

B. Dumbbell Lunges – Hold a dumbbell in each hand and pull your shoulders back. Lift your chest up and look straight ahead. Slowly bend your knees, lowering your hips so your rear knee just clears the floor. Pause briefly in this position, then slowly straighten your legs and raise your body back up to a standing position. Perform ten to fifteen repetitions and increase the intensity by increasing the weight of the dumbbells. Repeat with the other knee being the rear knee.

6. Quadriceps

A. Weighted Squat – Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart and holding dumbbells. Squat down until your thighs are just past parallel to the floor. Extend your knees and hips until legs are straight. Return and repeat.

7. Shoulders/ Quadriceps

A. Iron Cross – Stand in a low parallel squat position, feet shoulder width apart and holding dumbbells parallel to the ground with palms facing in. Move arms out away from your sides in a giant “T” as you stand upright.

8. Triceps

A. Bench Dips – Place two chairs facing each other, about three to four feet apart. Sit on one chair facing the other, with your hands grasping the side of the chair. Using your hands to support your weight, lift your feet onto the other chair so that the rest of your body is suspended between the two chairs. Slowly lower your body toward the floor by bending your elbows until your upper arms and forearms form a right angle. Return to starting position.

B. Kickback – Stand to the right of a bed. Bend your left knee and rest it on the bed, and place your left hand ahead of you on the bed for balance. Your back should be as straight as possible. Pick up a dumbbell in your right hand. Bend your arm and raise your elbow up to shoulder height. Hold it there for five seconds. Slowly lower the dumbbell back to starting position. Let the dumbbell hang. Repeat for ten to fifteen repetitions, then perform the same process for the left arm.

These exercises are good solutions if you demand convenience. Remember to pay attention to areas such as “start slow, increase gradually” and be sensitive to the people around you. When you train at home, you might incur disturbance for your family members. With that said, good luck in training at home!

Colin Tan

How much more could you earn with an extra 10 hours a week? As small business owners, we may not have the power to add more hours to the day, but with effective time management strategies, we can certainly give ourselves more time to get things done. Here are some simple ways to increase your profits by getting a better handle on how you spend your time:

* Avoid procrastination. This may be easier said than done, but it’s one of the most basic time management skills an entrepreneur can learn. If you’re finding you don’t have enough time in the day, keep closer track of what you’re actually doing while you’re “at work.” How many hours a day are you wasting thinking about getting a project done, rather than actually getting it done?

* Outsource. Let’s face it; no matter how good you are at time management, almost no small business owner can get absolutely everything done on their own. This is where “virtual assistants” can save you. Virtual assistants offer many benefits over hiring a full-time (or part-time) employee. Because they work “remotely” out of their own home or office, virtual assistants don’t come with the baggage typically associated with more traditional methods of staffing. Plus, you can pick and choose the expertise you need – whether you simply need someone to perform basic administrative work, or a specialist who can assist with copywriting, web development, or a host of other niches, there’s almost certainly a virtual assistant who can get the job done.

* Prioritize. Most small business owners have “to-do” lists. But those lists can’t help with time management if you aren’t using them correctly. Prioritize your activities so that the most important tasks get done first. You’ll accomplish more, and more of what’s really important to your Business.

* Focus on your goals. Many entrepreneurs never reach their full potential simply because they don’t have a clear goal that drives their daily activities. When this happens, it’s easy to get distracted – you’ll wind up spending time on things that aren’t truly important to your long-term success. Write down your goals, focus like a laser beam on doing only those things that help you achieve them, and watch your time management skills skyrocket.

Rebecca Trelfa
http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/small-business-owners-4-overlooked-ways-to-master-time-management-84504.html

Taking liberty with Shakespeare’s famous quote: ‘to outsource or not to outsource – that is the question’. The answer depends on a variety of factors such as core skills, project length, specialization, costs and staffing flexibility. By evaluating your circumstances and determining project factors, you can answer the famous question – at least in business terms.

Just a quick definition for those who ask what is the difference between outsourcing and subcontracting? Typically, outsourcing is done offsite at the outsourcer’s facility under their management control while subcontracting is done on your site under your management control. Some of the same concerns and considerations apply when determining which direction to go. Outsourcing tends to be a longer term decision with the largest loss of control.

To help in your evaluation, start by reviewing the following questions. Your answers will help to determine which direction best suits the circumstances.

1. Is this activity/project a core process (what your company does as a Business)?

2. Are specialized skills needed?

3. What is the duration?

4. Will confidential/proprietary information be disclosed?

5. Will the project result in new skills necessary for the ongoing business?

6. Could the project terminate early due to budgets/ other priorities?

7. Do I have the staff now or would I need to hire them?

8. Do I want close management of day-to-day activities?

There are some general guidelines relating to the decision to outsource or keep the activity ‘in-house’. Review these guidelines against the answers to the above questions to help with your decision.

Guideline 1: If the activity is a core process to your business, do not outsource. Consider the business of building cars. The assembly-line is core and you would not want to outsource this process, while computer training is not core and you would be able to outsource this without impacting your business integrity.

Guideline 2: If the project requires unique expertise for a limited length of time, do outsource. An example might be if you want to write an employee handbook ensuring all your policies are represented clearly and in legally correct terms. You would be better to outsource this to an experienced HR consulting firm. On the other-hand, if you just installed a new database technology requiring specialized technicians, you would be better to hire the skilled individuals since you will need them for an extended/ multi-year period to work on undetermined/multiple projects.

Guideline 3: If highly sensitive and confidential information will be revealed during the execution of the project, do not outsource. Example: if the project requires access to customer lists and future orders, do not outsource. Whereas revealing office locations or other public information would not compromise your business and could be outsourced.

Guideline 4: If you need the staff once the project is complete, do not outsource. This covers situations such as additional projects to work on or newly learned skills that are needed. However, projects that end with no ongoing need of the staff would require you to terminate employees, creating Human Resource issues, possible severance costs and legal issues. These short-term staff needs would best be outsourced since you can give termination notice (based on contractual agreements) and not have to deal with the outsourcer’s personnel.

Guideline 5: If the activity will last several years, do not outsource. The primary reason is price. Outsourcing typically costs more than if the work was done in-house since you are paying some ‘fixed costs and profit’ dollars as part of the cost to do the work. There will always be a need for accounting personnel and although this is not a core skill, the need is ongoing and should be kept in-house, as an example.

Guideline 6: If you require strict management control, do not outsource. Although you could have general oversight of the project deliverables, the day-to-day management is done by the outsourcer. This would impact project approach, employee moral, customer interaction (if any) and feedback. An example of recent outsourcing which may not have been a good idea is customer support for computer equipment sales by Dell. Dell could not control the interaction with their customers and there were numerous complaints about communication skills, product knowledge and general attitude of the outsourced technician. Many companies that outsourced support have taken back control.

As with most things in life, the decision is not always cut and dry. The project might be core or require revealing confidential information, but you do not have the management or staff available. Is the project critical enough to override these factors? If yes, outsourcing may be the correct solution. By weighing those factors most important to you, the answer ‘outsource or in-house’ may be just a little clearer.

Phyllis Recca

Six Sigma online training programs allow people who have a packed schedule to learn at their own pace. People who get a certification in this field can look forward to higher salaries and better job prospects.

Six Sigma online training is a disciplined approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process. It has been successfully implemented in many different areas including government, nonprofit, health care, manufacturing, research and services.

Online training for this defect elimination process is delivered through the Internet and is more flexible and cost-effective than conventional classroom training methods. Interactive course content is provided, online and on-demand. It includes simulations, practical exercises, audio and multi-media slide shows, quizzes and final exams.

Students can complete the program at anytime and from anywhere. They can start a module, or stop it, whenever they like and this is ideal for non-traditional adult learners, who are struggling to meet their family and work responsibilities.

Many service providers offer online training in this field to help by providing employees with relevant knowledge and skills of its concepts and practices. They conduct tests and provide certifications.

Different levels of training

Black Belt training is recommended for senior management. It includes a program overview and the financial benefits of implementation.

Functional and process managers require more detailed training than senior management and Black Belt training is also recommended for them.

Quality Leaders, who are also known as Quality Managers and Master Black Belts, undergo detailed training.

Project Leaders, also known as Black Belts implement the defect elimination methodology and tools within the organization.

Employees, also known as Green Belts, can take Six Sigma online training meant for part-time project managers. Training for Green Belts is like Black Belt training, but it is of a shorter duration.

Some companies provide their employees with basic Yellow Belt training, which is meant to allow employees to take part in, but not lead core processes.

Select the right online training program

Before you sign up for a online training program, ensure that the service provider’s website lists a physical address, telephone number and e-mail address. Check to see how long the provider has been in Business and see if there are any testimonials and references of real students who are employed with companies.

Is the training program accredited and are Continuing Education Units (CEUs) provided? A CEU usually represents ten contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education experience, under responsible and qualified instructors.

Reputed providers will list technical requirements for using their learning system and will have a technical support team in case you need any help. See if the provider is listed with the Better Business Bureau and if any complaints are listed against them.

Take your time to check the reputation of different service providers, before you join a Six Sigma online training program. Pick the course that’s right for you and start the quality improvement process on your career today.

Jim Zorn
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/six-sigma-online-training-certification-can-improve-your-career-quality-127298.html

AnvSoft Inc., the multimedia software developer, unveils a new website (http://www.photo-dvd-maker.com) today for its best-selling slide show software, Photo DVD Maker. The newly-revamped web site of Photo DVD Maker features stylish new layout, refined graphic design, vivid demo flash, and an enhanced online support center.

Begin with the appealing words, “We all have big days. Birthday, graduation, wedding, Christmas, party, holiday… A special photo slideshow with music makes the big day special,” the Introducing Photo DVD Maker section offers a simple but promising overview of the photo slide show creating program. “Creating photo slideshows with Photo DVD Maker is easy and enjoyable.” With Photo DVD Maker, yes, you can.

Photo DVD Maker is designed for creating photo slideshows that can be burned to DVD/VCD for watching on TV, transferred to iPod, PSP, mobile phones, uploaded to YouTube and MySpace, and saved in FLV, MPEG, AVI video formats.

The Features section highlights some of Photo DVD Maker’s best functions and features, such as

– Add text and clip arts to slideshows

– Make film-style photo DVD movies

– Support iPod, PSP, mobile phones and YouTube

– Customizable DVD menu templates

Over the past months, AnvSoft has been worked on collecting user feedback, analyzing technical solutions, and preparing the web presentation of the online support center, which offers comprehensive resources of FAQs, how-to, License Key Auto Retrieval, and contact information.

Frequently asked questions are selected, based on user feedback, and answered in well-organized order: Order Issues, Backup CD, Installation & Registration, Project & Albums, Adding Photos, Adding Music, Effects, Themes & Templates, Burning DVD/VCD, Watching on TV, and Uploading to the Internet.

Hot topics such as, “How can I get the program and license code after ordering”, “What if I lost the license code”, “How many photos can be added to one slideshow”, “How to add protected music to the slideshow”, are answered in the Top 10 Questions section.

As Christmas nears, AnvSoft is preparing for the holiday shopping season. “The revamping of the website of Photo DVD Maker one of the moves,” said the Marketing Manager of AnvSoft, “A one-stop-for-all-AnvSoft-Software special offer for the Christmas holiday is on the way rolling out.”

About AnvSoft

AnvSoft Inc. (http://www.anvsoft.com) is a multimedia software company that develops markets and sells photo slideshow maker, flash creator, DVD/video tools and audio converter program. Ever since 2002, the product line of AnvSoft has expanded from audio converter and video converter to a complete set of DVD/video tools, audio tools, photo management software and slideshow/flash software.

Contact for more information about this press release:

support@anvsoft.com

Emma

Holly Mann wrote the book Honest Riches which is a comprehensive guide which explains how to set up a website, build content, advertise, SEO, creating e-books with tips and tricks on internet marketing throughout as to how she personally gets her websites out there within weeks or a few months.   She is an internet marketing guru who has written Honest Riches to assist those individuals looking to make money online.  Her book helps beginners learn what approach to take and where to go for resources.  She puts a huge focus on free resources since she is aware that many people starting out in internet marketing have little financial means.  Is it really possible to make passive income online (being continuous income earned currently for one time efforts performed in the past).  Yes it is.  Holly Mann’s book Honest Riches, updated for the third time in 2008, tells you how to accomplish this in short order.  You should also be aware that Holly Mann is sharing with you in her book Honest Riches, her personal techniques for making money online in 280 packed full pages.  She prides herself on being an honest marketer.

Why Should You Buy Holly Mann’s Book called Honest Riches

This book is and/or will:

• an excellent resource for beginners and intermediate internet marketers and even senior web marketers will find new ideas and resources in her book
• provide you with resources for FREE information, programs, website building, autoresponders, cloaking devices, keyword searching, etc. for those on a tight budget
• packed full of information, advice, procedures, web tool resources, programs and links to the best websites available for information in internet marketing
• resources to cut to the chase and get down to making money quicker
• help you move in the right direction from the onset which will save you hours of time doing the research yourself
• teach you affiliate marketing basics, how it works, the difference between independent and network affiliate programs set out in a detailed precise chart, recommendations on what networks to join, how to find good affiliate programs, and even information for those outside of North America in other countries and what programs and networks are available to them, and a detailed checklist on what questions you need to ask when picking a network or program
• provide an explanation on cloaking and how necessary it is for you to understand why it is important to use it with your links together with free sources for cloaking software
• teach you how to profit without having a website including explaining niches, using forums to profit, forum signatures and how to use links within to promote your business, etc.
• provide you with tips on how to write a sales letter and/or review of a product, where to find the hottest and newest products to review and sell, where to submit your reviews online without a website, additional sources for learning how to write articles
• provide you with how to use social networks, web 2.0 and e-mail marketing to obtain business
• provide you with a detailed explanation of what autoresponders are and where to find the cheapest and best autoresponders
• teach and explain to you how to create a website including providing explanations about domain names, IP addresses, website hosting, website designs, special advice for beginners, HTML, PHP, content management systems, free websites
• provide you with how to hire a web designer, contracts for services, website design resources, and how to hire a web designer for free
• provide an explanation of RSS feeds, readers, finding and adding feeds, e-mail subscriptions for RSS feeds, and how to add an RSS Feed to your website
• provides an explanation and links respecting various types of advertising methods free and paid on the web including press releases, articles, directories, classified ad websites and how to websites, pay-per-click, and free reports with tips for all forms of advertising
• provides advanced monetization techniques including visual card directory, Amazon stores, social network marketing
• provide you with many tips, tricks, things to be careful about, top websites for matters discussed throughout the book, and many many resources for freebies
• The book is well written and easy to read, contains charts and diagrams to make the concepts easier to understand and has two indexes for ease of finding information

When I found Holly Mann’s book, Honest Riches, I was blown away by the amount of advice and information contained in the book.  The Honest Riches book was recently expanded and updated to go from 95 pages to 280 pages packed full of new and current information and resources.   I received the updated version free of charge because I had previously bought version 2.   The 2008 version breaks down the procedures for doing online marketing more clearly so as to assist the beginner who has no concept of what making money online is all about and provides many more resources.

What’s In the Honest Riches Book

For those of you who really like to know more specific details about a book which normally cannot be easily ascertained from online marketing, the following is a book review of Honest Riches which is very long and detailed so that you can determine more carefully whether the book will cover the subject(s) that you need training on, information about or resources for.   If the subject is covered in this book you can be assured the information comes from an excellent source.  Holly Mann spends considerable time looking into the programs she promotes and always buys and uses all programs she promotes.  She does not promote programs that she does not think are worthwhile.  Holly Mann also includes her own personal tips and tricks.

Her current 2008 version of the book, Honest Riches, is really 10 books in one and focuses on the following:

• Affiliate Marketing 
• Research & Preparations
• Profiting Without a Website
• Website Creation
• Search Engine Optimization
• Advertising Methods
• Product Creation
• Advanced Monetization Methods
• Internet Marketing Toolkit
• Holly Mann’s Personal Resources

Below is a summary of each of these books and what they will offer you.   This book is for those who are at beginner or intermediate level in internet marketing.  It can also assist senior internet marketers for new information they may not be aware of.  Holly Mann is very proactive at providing new and updated information to her audience.  She spends her time looking at all of the many ways of making money online so that she can provide these resources to her readers as time goes on.

Affiliate Marketing (Book 1 of Honest Riches by Holly Mann)

In this book Holly Mann explains what the different types of affiliate programs there are, how they work and how you get paid.  Holly indicates in this book that affiliate marketing was her key to financial success online.  She explains the difference between independent affiliate programs and affiliate networks and gives links to a number of the most popular and reliable affiliate networks, how they work and how you get paid by them.  She also recommends a number of networks that deal with individuals who live anywhere in the world.   She further provides a list of questions that you should ask yourself when you are thinking of picking a program or network and what you need to watch out for.

One of the interesting tidbits she provides in this book is about affiliate link cloaking.  She goes into great depth about what it is, how to set it up and how it protects you from affiliate link theft.   I had read about cloaking before but had no idea why it was such a benefit.   Thanks to Holly Mann I now realize that I need to use cloaking for my affiliate links.  You will too if you purchase her book. 

Research & Preparations (Book 2 of Honest Riches by Holly Mann)

In this book Holly Mann has spent some time showing you what the difference is between goals and direction in order to ensure you proceed in the right manner from the onset.  Remember she has already been through all this when she started to learn internet marketing and she has given you some tools for ensuring you do not get side tracked from your ultimate goal of making income on the web and the importance of “dreaming big”.  For those of you such as myself who have spent many hours looking at a number of websites unsure which ones were the best to spend time on, this book will help eliminate some of those extra hours of work for you.

Holly Mann goes into great detail about keyword research tools.  If you are not aware of what keywords are you must learn since it is a mandatory for being successful online.  She goes into detail about what “keywords are, what “niches” are and provides resources for a variety of free and paid keyword research tools and the benefits of each including Wordtracker which has been claimed to be the best available for keyword research.  Holly Mann claims that she has used Wordtracker regularly for all of her internet marketing research. 

Profiting Without Websites (Book 3 of Honest Riches by Holly Mann)

In this section of Honest Riches, Holly Mann explains how to make money without a website through forum postings, writing reviews, ***.  When I first heard about this concept I thought that I must have heard wrong since I could not fathom how this could actually work.  Holly Mann sets out the different procedures including a discussion about how to make money adding affiliate links to forum postings without being considered spam and gives a number of different ways in which it can be done. She also gives a website that she personally made thousands of dollars from posting a simple short advertisement.  In this book Holly Mann describes how to properly set up a signature in forums and the benefits of this.  She further tells you how you can find the hottest items to focus on when selling online.  She explains how to make money without a website by writing reviews of products and submitting them online in various places and provides you with links to some of the best places to post your reviews. 

She even provides some excellent links to learn how to write effectively for the internet if you feel you need this.   Some of these courses give excellent tips to assist you with your writing and even good writers can find new techniques that will improve their online writing which is another form of writing.  There are also references to sites where you can write articles for others and be paid for them as well.

This section also includes information on how to make money using social networking websites, web 2.0 (being websites created by a community of users) and e-mail marketing (which includes an explanation of what autoresponders are and how they can help you make money and where to get an excellent one for a great price).

Website Creation (Book 4 of Honest Holly by Holly Mann

This book goes right through the entire process of setting up websites in various forms and includes ways of obtaining free resources.  It is written for the beginner.   She provides an explanation of what domain names and IP addresses are.  Holly Mann explains what hosting your website means and gives you some excellent tips on what to look for in a hosting company along with a reference to a hosting company that I would recommend myself as a matter of fact.  I was glad to see she promotes the same one since when I did my research Bluehost was my hosting company of choice and at that time I was not really knowledgeable to make the right decision. 

There is a great section on website design which tries to teach you what not to do.  Holly Mann does not want you to make the same mistakes she did and end up with hours of extra work.    She has some very clear advice on this that should be looked at.  Holly Mann gives you some recommended software to help you create the HTML and explains what HTML is and how to write it.   She further goes into an explanation of PHP with excellent tips on how to use it on your website.

Holly Mann recommends everyone use content management systems (CMS) instead of HTML for the simple reason that everything is set up for you and making changes is very easy.  Content management systems give you the ability to add, update and edit your site without needing an HTML editor or software to do so which provides for more flexibility and control.  She also tells you where to go to get a  number of good content management systems for free and describes two of her favourites in detail.

In cases where you might not want to prepare your website yourself, she has provided information and references for hiring a designer with tips on what to watch out for. She even has tips on how to get someone to do your website for free.  Holly Mann always thinks in terms of the person who does not have a lot of funds. 

She includes a website design lingo dictionary to assist you with terms you will need to understand and service contracts that you can use for hiring a web designer.

The last chapter in this book gives an explanation of RSS Feeds and how they can benefit you.  She provides an explanation of feed readers, finding and adding RSS Feeds, e-mail subscriptions for RSS Feeds and how you can have an RSS Feed on your website. 

 Search Engine Optimization (Book 5 of Honest Riches by Holly Mann)

This is my personal favourite book in Honest Riches.  Holly Mann goes in detail about how search engines work, how to get indexed in the search engines right away, how to do research on the market for your website.   

She gives a research example on the SEO steps that should be taken for your new website which would be akin to a Business plan.  This is great because in this process she goes through the process in baby steps so you can learn how she would handle the SEO steps for a new project step by step.

Holly Mann has created over 150 websites and provides some input into her own personal experiences with SEO techniques to help you avoid making the same mistakes.   The steps she provides for you are the exact same steps she uses herself every time she sets up a website.  She has indicated that every single niche website she has optimized has reached top ranking in the search engines.  

There is a step-by-step SEO Guide which includes keyword research, how to analyze your competition, linking strategies, purchasing a domain name, web hosting, website plan, articles, etc.   She has many resources in this section including where to go for webmaster tools and free site map templates.  She teaches you how to do reverse searching, what a robots text file is, and what you need to know about bots, spiders and crawlers when setting up your website. There are also some SEO Tutorials included.

Advertising Methods (Book 6 of Honest Riches by Holly Mann)

This is another one of my favourite books.  One of the first methods she recommends are Press Releases and she provides you will information on what they are, how to draft one and a list of links where to go to publish them for free.   I tend to use Holly Mann’s links for particular sites before I go to others since if she feels it is a good website to advertise in then that is enough for me.  She also gives you tips on how to pay a small amount to get a higher ranking quicker and at what websites she feels it would be a good idea to invest.

Holly Mann discussed bringing your website up in the rankings by adding articles to article websites, adding your website to directories and adding advertisements to websites and provides tips she uses herself with respect to these submissions.  She also discusses how to establish a presence online with “how to” websites and how to accomplish this and how to provide free reports and up sell at the same time and even includes a tutorial on how to prepare a free report.

There is a chapter explaining pay-per-click advertising, how to test campaigns and on affordable advertising for those who do not want to wait to get to the top of the search engines. 

Throughout all of this section there is tip after tip from Holly Mann as to what she feels you should consider and focus on when trying to get your website up in the rankings quickly.  Holly Mann explains how she has her site indexed within 2 weeks of putting it up.  After I finished reading the 2008 guide I realized why my website was still not high enough in the rankings and exactly what I needed to do in order to improve my traffic.

Production Creation (Book 7 of Honest Riches by Holly Mann)

This book goes into great deal on how to create and sell an e-book online including tutorials on research, creating and selling, self-publishing, brand creation.

Advanced Monetization Methods (Book 8 of Honest Riches by Holly Mann)

This section is for the more advanced internet marketer and if the beginners follow Holly’s tricks and tips throughout, by the time they get to this section they will have enough understanding of how to use these advanced techniques.

Some of the things that she discusses are visual card directories, how to create an Amazon store, using videos to advertise your product, social network revenue sharing, video websites, targeted text-link traffic.

Holly Mann provides a lot of information on how to market on social networks and which networks you should go with in order to get the most impact and how to gain from this exposure.

IM Toolkit (Book 9 of Honest Riches by Holly Mann)

Holly Mann starts off this section by saying that almost everything required for internet marketing can be obtained for free and provides information and resources for open source software, public domain software, copylefted software, non-copylefted free software, GPL-covered software, GNU software, freeware, shareware, free website design templates, free WordPress Themes, free scripts, DHTML goodies, free fonts, images and graphics, photo software, and vector images, and goes into detail about what these different types of resources can provide to you. 

There is a chapter on website ideas for making money and she provides examples and procedures for a number of types of adventures including certain types of websites that can make money and master resale rights. 

Holly Mann’s Personal Resources (Book 10 of Honest Riches by Holly Mann)

Holly sets out her own personal resources in this section of the book and outlines some of her personal preferences such as e-mail programs, web browsers, web design software and much more.  She also includes a list of her favourite internet marketing gurus that she recommends with links to their resources.

Summary

At the time of reading the third and most current version of Holly Mann’s book called Honest Riches, I felt I was at an intermediate level for understanding internet marketing.  I have found many new and exciting ideas and resources in her book to continue me to senior level.  If you are determined to make money through online marketing as I am, Holly Mann’s book can certainly help you get there quicker.

Although you can read specific sections in the Honest Riches book that might pertain to what you are interested in knowing at the onset, it is important that you read the entire book because there will be tips throughout that will help you with different aspects of your internet marketing.

This new 2008 version of the Honest Riches book very simply is 100% better than the previous versions.  My main critique of the previous version 2 would have been that although it was geared to the beginner the information was provide in short context which made it hard for the beginner to understand if they did not have a lot of knowledge.  She has definitely solved this problem by taking the time to explain very clearly from beginning to end what a beginner has to do to accomplish each aspect of internet marketing and added even more resources for everyone to take advantage of.

As a critique, I would suggest that a sub-index should have been included with the main index at the front of the book (as was done in a previous version so that it is more clear what each chapter in each book in the set deals with, however, the index at the back helps a lot to assist.

Even though there are now substantial tutorials throughout the book, it is still a book of resources and should be considered same and is there fore those beginners who need to watch their budget as they are growing their marketing online.

For more information you can go to http://ebooklibrary.canadianbusinessresources.ca/hollymann.html

Holly Crosgrey