Τετάρτη 26 Δεκεμβρίου 2012

Venus Index Review

VI is a workout program that can help women achieve the perfect body measurements. After you buy the Venus Index program, you download a package that contains the following books in .pdf format:

The Main Manual: in this manual, John Barban, explains the concept of the Venus index ratio. There are actually three ratios that define your body shape:

1) Height-to-Waist Ratio: The perfect waist should be less than 50% of height and ideally less than 38%. Having a larger waist doesn’t only look bad, but is also not good for your overall health.

2) Waist-to-Hip Ratio: Your ideal waist-to-hip ratio is between 0.7 and 0.65.

3) Waist-to-Shoulder Ratio: The calculation for ideal shoulders is the following: 0.618 of your height.

As you can see, the ideal proportions are based on your height and your personal ratio is unique. This means that the program aims to help you become the best version of yourself and not to strive to conform to an unrealistic ideal body type.

To attain the Venus index ratio, you will have to perform the strength workouts that are contained in the exercise manuals. Don’t be afraid that you will end up looking too muscular. Most of the women who look overly muscular are using drugs like stimulants and male hormones. If you want to have a firm, toned body like Jessica Biel, or Kristen Bell, muscle training is the way to go.

The Body Centric Eating Manual: in this manual, Brad Pilon, will help you determine your daily metabolic rate and find the number of calories that you should consume every day to lose weight.

The Exercise Gallery: this ebook contains all the pictures and the descriptions for every exercise, as well as links to the videos that can guide you through the whole process.

The Workout Cycles 1,2 and 3: these are the 3 different books that contain the workout routines for every month.

Apart from the Original System, there are two more programs that are considered more advanced:

The Venus Index Circuits

The Venus Index Circuits is a program that is considered to be an add-on to the basic system. The manual contains six different programs to choose from. Each program lasts for four months. This program is not the ideal choice, if you are a beginner.

The Venus Index Specializations (Boosters)

This system is great for women who want to correct stubborn body areas that don’t respond well to exercise and need a little more work. Of course, it goes without saying that in order to benefit from this program you need to already have lost all of your excess body weight. This is a program that can be used at the end of your transformation, if you have any stubborn fat left. 




Κυριακή 23 Δεκεμβρίου 2012

The Venus Index System

The Venus Index system is a 12 week system that can help you achieve the best possible female shape. But, can you really change your body shape? Many magazines try to convince that you are either an apple, a banana, a pear, or a hourglass and that this can never change no matter what you do. But, the truth is that these are only patterns of fat distribution. If you have a lot of excess weight, then fat distribution may be asymmetrical. You may store a lot of fat in your thighs or in the midsection and this is certainly genetically determined. The question is what would happen if you lost all of your excess fat? Would you still have an apple or a pear body shape? Probably not. There will be nothing there to create that look. So, the aim of the Venus Index workout system is to help you lower your body fat percentage as much as possible (not below healthy levels, of course) and to develop your muscles, in order to create the ideal body shape.

What is the ideal body shape?

So, what is the most flattering shape for women? According to the research of John Barban (the creator of the Venus Index workout system) there is a certain body shape that the opposite sex finds most attractive: the hourglass figure. To achieve the hourglass figure the width of your hips must be exactly the same or almost the same as the width of your bust and your waist must be much narrower. In contrast, the apple shape is when there is a lot of fat stored in the midsection and is not considered an attractive body shape, probably because it has been associated with higher than normal androgen levels. The pear shape is when the hips are much wider than the bust. This body shape is certainly more feminine than the apple shape, but is not considered ideal.

What happens if you are an apple or a pear? Can you actually achieve the hourglass figure and should you really obsess over it? Depending on your starting point, you may not be able to achieve the perfect hourglass figure, but you can get as close as you can. The aim is not to look just like the women you see in the magazines. The aim is to become the best possible version of your self!

Even if beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, health must also be taken into consideration. For example, having a very wide waist is not only aesthetically displeasing, but has also been associated with many health problems. A large waistline is an independent risk factor even if you are not considered “overweight” or “obese” according to the Body Mass Index (BMI). If your waist is above 88 cm, this can reduce insulin sensitivity, negatively affect your cholesterol levels and increase the risk of developing diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. As you can see, even though every woman has her own unique body shape, in some cases it would be better to go against the flow rather than to embrace your body shape.

The Venus Index – What does it stand for?

The Venus Index is based on three ratios:

Height-to-Waist Ratio

The ideal waist is 38% of your height. The number can be obtained by multiplying your height in inches by 0.38.

Waist-to-Hip Ratio

Multiply your waist circumference by 1.42 to get your ideal hip measurements.

Waist-to-Shoulder Ratio

Take your ideal waist number and multiply by 1.618 to get your ideal shoulder’s circumference.

As you can see the Venus Index is not the same for every woman, as everyone’s height is different. Among the three ratios the waist to height is the most important one.

The Venus Index System - An outline

The Main Manual- this can help you determine your ideal Venus Index ratio and decide whether you need to lose or gain weight to achieve it.

The Body Centric Eating Guide- after you determine your Venus index, you can use this guide to reach your goals, as far as fat loss is concerned. Don’t expect anything fancy. The body centric eating manual simply tells you to eat less food, if you want to lose weight. Unlike other weight loss plans, the Body Centric eating plan shows you how to find the right eating formula for your specific needs and the caloric intake is calculated according to your weight, height and measurements.

The Venus Index Workout Manual - this is probably the most important part of the program and includes a step-by-step 12 week workout that can help you shape and tone your muscles through resistance training.

Resistance training? Will I get bulky?

It’s actually pretty funny that women are always afraid of getting bulky, considering the fact that men try like crazy to build muscle and find it rather hard. The truth of the matter is that you don’t have enough testosterone to get bulky, so it wouldn’t happen even if you tried. Resistance training will simply help you achieve a lean, strong and firm body and avoid the “skinny fat” look. Doing only cardio won’t help you develop your muscles in a targeted way and achieve your ideal Venus Index ratios.

Apart from the three main manuals the program also consists of: the exercise gallery (that includes photos and videos of every exercise), one-year access to The Venus Index Community and free updates.

The phases of The Venus Index System:

The Venus Index is divided into 3 phases and each phase lasts for one month. You need to do at least 3 workouts each week and I’m not going to lie to you: the workouts are not easy, but they are doable. Each workout takes about an hour. The only equipment you are going to need is dumbbells, a bench, a barbell and a workout mat.

Pros and Cons of The Venus Index System

Pros:

- The workouts are all shown in video and are very easy to follow.

- You do not have to torture yourself by eliminating your favorite foods from your diet.

- The workouts can be followed by women of many different fitness levels.

Cons:

- The eating plan of the Venus Index allows a lot of freedom, which may be a problem for women you need a stricter eating plan.

The Venus Index Contest

John Barban (the creator of the Venus Index) holds many contests every year for women who want to compete for prizes and motivate themselves to strive towards physical perfection. 

These are the before and after pictures of the winner of the last contest, Kelly Hancock. It’s obvious that Kelly managed to completely transform her body and especially her waist.

Join The Venus Index Community and you may be next!