Triming Down for Powerlifters
By Shawn "Bud" Lyte - CME, CSN
President, BMF Sports
Illinois State Chairman, 100% RAW Powerlifting Federation
RawPowerlifting.com
Over the years, unfounded rumors, myths and half-truths have arisen and
taken hold in regards to the detriments of cardio and diet to power
and strength performance. Cardio allegedly drains a powerlifter's power
akin to Superman wearing a Kryptonite codpiece. This is true only if
the cardio is pre-workout, intense, and in excess of 15-20 minutes,
and depends on the subsequent workout. For example, one would not want
to spend 20 minutes on a stepper or hammering on a cycle before their
squat training.
I've found that doing only a light and brief (5 minute) cardio warm up
on squat days helps keep my legs and squats strong for training.
Typically, my trainees, teammates and I will do 20 minutes of
post-workout cardio on bench days and off days, which comes out 3 days
a week on average. For those who only do evening workouts, 20-30
minutes of morning cardio, every other day, works very well.
As far as fat loss, I never rely on or look to cardio as a sole or
primary means to that, preferring diet modification. Approach that
I take with my trainees, that continues to work well, is to drop
calories over the course of 3-4 weeks to about 70% of my maintenance
calories, then hold at 70% until the target weight range is reached.
Example:
wk 1: 9 x bodyweight integer (250 lb) = 2250 calories
wk 2: 8 x bodyweight integer (250 lb) = 2000 calories
wk 3: 7 x bodyweight integer (250 lb) = 1750 calories
>From here, calories are brought (over the course of 3-4 weeks) back
up to 90% which becomes the lifter's new maintenance calorie intake.
The key here is to keep the calories as lean as possible. No
processed foods (except on a cheat day here and there), no saturated
or hydrogenated fats at any time, and always, always, always
consuming protein with carbs.
A lean operation is an efficient one, and the same goes for bodies.
You will find that when you keep your body fat and weight under
control, your training efficiency, metabolic efficiency, and
performance improve considerably, comparatively effortlessly, and
you won't fight yourself caught up in the battle of trying to make
weight.
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Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
Fat Loss Myths
By Gary Matthews
Every regime has its supply of useless folk lore and
half-truths that get passed on down the line from
person to person. But I'd put fat loss up against
any of them for what has to be the most time wasting and
even the most dangerous myths out there.
There is a ton of free advice seen in the media these days
and if it is taken seriously, can really set you back on your
fat loss endeavours. This can lead to the kind of frustration
that makes people think they are "destined to remain fat for life".
This in not true, Have a look at the myths below and draw your
own conclusions.
More exercise is better.
Every exercise session is beneficial to each individual,
however more is not always better. It depends on what is
trying to be achieved. There is a level and frequency
required to achieve results.
After this level is reached, additional exercise can
have the opposite effect, not allowing the body to
recuperate and adapt to the stress induced by the
exercise, which can be detrimental to your results.
After stopping exercise muscle will turn to fat.
This in not possible, Muscle and fat are two different
types of tissues in the body and you cannot convert one into the
other. This is like trying to turn water into milk.
If you stop training, the muscles will shrink
in size - and do not disappear. The more calories
taken in that are not burned off will be deposited as fat.
If you’re not sweating, you’re not working hard enough.
Sweating is the body's way of cooling itself down.
Many factors contribute to body temperature, including
room temperature, types of exercise done, body-fat levels,
clothing, and exercise intensity. The intensity for
exercise can't be judged by the amount you sweat.
A well-trained person will often sweat a lot because
their body can more efficiently regulate heat.
Taking sugar before exercise to raise energy levels.
Ingestion of sugar will lead to a rapid rise in blood
sugar levels. This rapid rise stimulates a release of
insulin, which quickly removes the excess sugar from
the blood system, often causing your blood sugar levels
to drop, sometimes below the level that it started at,
leading to faster exhaustion.
Gaining weight is just a part of getting older.
Getting older is not an excuse for gaining weight!
As we age and begin a more sedentary lifestyle we
start to lose muscle mass.
The efficiency of your metabolism is directly linked
to how much muscle you have on your body. The most
efficient way of maintaining your body's muscle mass
and keeping your metabolism from dropping, is by
doing a high intensity strength training workout once a week.
X is the best form of exercise.
Claims like this are usually based on marketing strategy
and personal bias. Even when claims are based on factual
information, they have little practical value to the
average exerciser. The most important thing is to choose
an activity that you like, and perform it properly and
consistently.
If it’s fat free I can have as much as I want.
Unfortunately fat free doesn't mean calorie free.
The word fat free is misleading because if you
overeat on anything, even fat free foods and you
don't burn off those calories, your body will
store the excess as fat.
Don't drink water when you exercise or you will get cramps.
By drinking litres of icy cold water in one go while
exercising you will probably suffer from cramps.
This is why it is important to drink water
continuously before, during and after exercising
to replace the fluid you've lost and avoid any discomfort.
By not having a personal trainer I wont make gains.
Hiring a personal trainer is one way you can use to
reach your goals, but you are an adult capable of
making decisions and setting your own goals once
you have the knowledge of how to go about it.
Following a good exercise program and eating
plan does not require someone standing over
you and telling you how to do it.
By exercising my abs I will lose my pot belly.
Exercising your abdominals will help to tone and
firm the abdominal region, but it will not reduce
fat deposits that are responsible for a pot belly.
Fat reduction comes from burning more calories
than you take in. Fat is reduced uniformly throughout
the body there is no such thing as spot reduction.
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Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter, and you will be automatically entered
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By Gary Matthews
Every regime has its supply of useless folk lore and
half-truths that get passed on down the line from
person to person. But I'd put fat loss up against
any of them for what has to be the most time wasting and
even the most dangerous myths out there.
There is a ton of free advice seen in the media these days
and if it is taken seriously, can really set you back on your
fat loss endeavours. This can lead to the kind of frustration
that makes people think they are "destined to remain fat for life".
This in not true, Have a look at the myths below and draw your
own conclusions.
More exercise is better.
Every exercise session is beneficial to each individual,
however more is not always better. It depends on what is
trying to be achieved. There is a level and frequency
required to achieve results.
After this level is reached, additional exercise can
have the opposite effect, not allowing the body to
recuperate and adapt to the stress induced by the
exercise, which can be detrimental to your results.
After stopping exercise muscle will turn to fat.
This in not possible, Muscle and fat are two different
types of tissues in the body and you cannot convert one into the
other. This is like trying to turn water into milk.
If you stop training, the muscles will shrink
in size - and do not disappear. The more calories
taken in that are not burned off will be deposited as fat.
If you’re not sweating, you’re not working hard enough.
Sweating is the body's way of cooling itself down.
Many factors contribute to body temperature, including
room temperature, types of exercise done, body-fat levels,
clothing, and exercise intensity. The intensity for
exercise can't be judged by the amount you sweat.
A well-trained person will often sweat a lot because
their body can more efficiently regulate heat.
Taking sugar before exercise to raise energy levels.
Ingestion of sugar will lead to a rapid rise in blood
sugar levels. This rapid rise stimulates a release of
insulin, which quickly removes the excess sugar from
the blood system, often causing your blood sugar levels
to drop, sometimes below the level that it started at,
leading to faster exhaustion.
Gaining weight is just a part of getting older.
Getting older is not an excuse for gaining weight!
As we age and begin a more sedentary lifestyle we
start to lose muscle mass.
The efficiency of your metabolism is directly linked
to how much muscle you have on your body. The most
efficient way of maintaining your body's muscle mass
and keeping your metabolism from dropping, is by
doing a high intensity strength training workout once a week.
X is the best form of exercise.
Claims like this are usually based on marketing strategy
and personal bias. Even when claims are based on factual
information, they have little practical value to the
average exerciser. The most important thing is to choose
an activity that you like, and perform it properly and
consistently.
If it’s fat free I can have as much as I want.
Unfortunately fat free doesn't mean calorie free.
The word fat free is misleading because if you
overeat on anything, even fat free foods and you
don't burn off those calories, your body will
store the excess as fat.
Don't drink water when you exercise or you will get cramps.
By drinking litres of icy cold water in one go while
exercising you will probably suffer from cramps.
This is why it is important to drink water
continuously before, during and after exercising
to replace the fluid you've lost and avoid any discomfort.
By not having a personal trainer I wont make gains.
Hiring a personal trainer is one way you can use to
reach your goals, but you are an adult capable of
making decisions and setting your own goals once
you have the knowledge of how to go about it.
Following a good exercise program and eating
plan does not require someone standing over
you and telling you how to do it.
By exercising my abs I will lose my pot belly.
Exercising your abdominals will help to tone and
firm the abdominal region, but it will not reduce
fat deposits that are responsible for a pot belly.
Fat reduction comes from burning more calories
than you take in. Fat is reduced uniformly throughout
the body there is no such thing as spot reduction.
Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, Shape Up. Sign up for our Free Weekly Bodybuilding,
Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter, and you will be automatically entered
in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes.
Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
Click Here To Sign Up Free
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Muscle Gain Myths
By Gary Matthews
Myths that lead to wasted time, frustration and if are taken
blindly as truth, can really set back your progress in the gym.
Don't believe everything you hear in the gym when it comes to
exercise and muscle gain, do the research yourself.
Simple, basic principles apply to all muscle gaining such as
progressive overload, variable frequency of reps and high
intensity workouts. Lets take a look at some of the most
common muscle gain myths.
High repetitions for definition and low repetitions build muscle.
Progressive overload is needed to make muscles bigger. Meaning
that you need to perform more reps than you did for your last
workout for that particular exercise. If you perform the same
amount of reps at each workout nothing will change on you, also
if the poundage on the bar doesn't changes on the bar nothing
will change on you. You need to become stronger.
Definition has two characteristics, muscle size and a low
fat percentage. To reduce fat you will have to reduce your
calories; the high repetition exercise will burn a few calories,
but wouldn't it be better to fast walk to burn these off?
Better still; use the low reps to build muscle, which will
elevate your metabolism and burn more calories.
Vegetarians can't build muscle.
Yes they can! Strength training with supplementation of
soy Protein Isolate has shown to increase muscle. Studies
have shown that athletic performance is not impaired
by following a meat free diet, and people strength training
and consuming only soy protein isolate as a protein source
were able to gain lean muscle mass.
If you take a week off you will lose most of your gains.
Taking one or two weeks off occasionally will not harm your
training. By taking this time off every eight to ten weeks
in between strength training cycles it has the habit of
refreshing you and to heal those small niggling injuries.
By having longer layoffs you do not actually lose muscle fibres,
just volume through not training, any size loss will be quickly
re-gained.
If I'm not sore after a workout, I didn't work out hard enough.
Post workout soreness is not an indication of how good the
exercise or strength training session was for you. The fitter
you are at a certain activity, the less soreness you will
experience after.
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Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter, and you will be automatically entered
in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes.
Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
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By Gary Matthews
Myths that lead to wasted time, frustration and if are taken
blindly as truth, can really set back your progress in the gym.
Don't believe everything you hear in the gym when it comes to
exercise and muscle gain, do the research yourself.
Simple, basic principles apply to all muscle gaining such as
progressive overload, variable frequency of reps and high
intensity workouts. Lets take a look at some of the most
common muscle gain myths.
High repetitions for definition and low repetitions build muscle.
Progressive overload is needed to make muscles bigger. Meaning
that you need to perform more reps than you did for your last
workout for that particular exercise. If you perform the same
amount of reps at each workout nothing will change on you, also
if the poundage on the bar doesn't changes on the bar nothing
will change on you. You need to become stronger.
Definition has two characteristics, muscle size and a low
fat percentage. To reduce fat you will have to reduce your
calories; the high repetition exercise will burn a few calories,
but wouldn't it be better to fast walk to burn these off?
Better still; use the low reps to build muscle, which will
elevate your metabolism and burn more calories.
Vegetarians can't build muscle.
Yes they can! Strength training with supplementation of
soy Protein Isolate has shown to increase muscle. Studies
have shown that athletic performance is not impaired
by following a meat free diet, and people strength training
and consuming only soy protein isolate as a protein source
were able to gain lean muscle mass.
If you take a week off you will lose most of your gains.
Taking one or two weeks off occasionally will not harm your
training. By taking this time off every eight to ten weeks
in between strength training cycles it has the habit of
refreshing you and to heal those small niggling injuries.
By having longer layoffs you do not actually lose muscle fibres,
just volume through not training, any size loss will be quickly
re-gained.
If I'm not sore after a workout, I didn't work out hard enough.
Post workout soreness is not an indication of how good the
exercise or strength training session was for you. The fitter
you are at a certain activity, the less soreness you will
experience after.
Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, Shape Up. Sign up for our Free Weekly Bodybuilding,
Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter, and you will be automatically entered
in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes.
Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
Click Here To Sign Up Free
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Exercise Just as Effective as Medication for Treating Major Depression
Q I was watching Bill Maher on TV and he said a recent study showed
exercise was just as effective for depression as an antidepressant
medication. Was he just kidding? Or is this real?
A It is real all right. The study, published in the journal
Psychosomatic Medicine, comes from Duke University. A professor of
medical psychology, Dr. James Blumenthal, led the research. After
demonstrating that 30 minutes of brisk exercise three times a week
is just as effective as Medication therapy in relieving the symptoms
of major depression in the short term, medical center researchers
have now shown that continued exercise greatly reduces the chances
of the depression returning. Last year, the Duke researchers
reported on their study of 156 older patients diagnosed with major
depression which, to their surprise, found that after 16 weeks,
patients who exercised showed statistically significant and
comparable improvement relative to those who took anti-depression
medication, or those who took the medication and exercised.
Researchers found that aerobic exercise, like brisk walking,
swimming, biking and aerobic dance, works best. It seems to
affect the body’s levels of mood-lifting neurochemicals like
norepinephrine and serotonin. Therefore, if you would rather
exercise your depression away, it’s worth a try. You may get
fit in more ways than one.
These findings could change the way depression is treated,
medications have been proven to have unwanted side effects
and more and more people are looking for a natural way of
feeling better.
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Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter, and you will be automatically entered
in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes.
Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
Click Here To Sign Up Free
Q I was watching Bill Maher on TV and he said a recent study showed
exercise was just as effective for depression as an antidepressant
medication. Was he just kidding? Or is this real?
A It is real all right. The study, published in the journal
Psychosomatic Medicine, comes from Duke University. A professor of
medical psychology, Dr. James Blumenthal, led the research. After
demonstrating that 30 minutes of brisk exercise three times a week
is just as effective as Medication therapy in relieving the symptoms
of major depression in the short term, medical center researchers
have now shown that continued exercise greatly reduces the chances
of the depression returning. Last year, the Duke researchers
reported on their study of 156 older patients diagnosed with major
depression which, to their surprise, found that after 16 weeks,
patients who exercised showed statistically significant and
comparable improvement relative to those who took anti-depression
medication, or those who took the medication and exercised.
Researchers found that aerobic exercise, like brisk walking,
swimming, biking and aerobic dance, works best. It seems to
affect the body’s levels of mood-lifting neurochemicals like
norepinephrine and serotonin. Therefore, if you would rather
exercise your depression away, it’s worth a try. You may get
fit in more ways than one.
These findings could change the way depression is treated,
medications have been proven to have unwanted side effects
and more and more people are looking for a natural way of
feeling better.
Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, Shape Up. Sign up for our Free Weekly Bodybuilding,
Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter, and you will be automatically entered
in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes.
Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
Click Here To Sign Up Free
Thursday, November 01, 2007
The Best Muscle Building Exercises
Leg Exercises
Barbell Squats:
Major Muscles Worked-Quadriceps, hamstrings, hips, and glutes.
Leg Press:
Major Muscles Worked-Quadriceps, and hamstrings.
DeadLift:
Major Muscles Worked-Hamstrings, glutes, and lower back.
Leg Extension:
Major Muscles Worked-Quadriceps
Leg Curls:
Major Muscles Worked-Hamstrings
Calf Raises:
Major Muscles Worked- All calf muscles.
Chest Exercises
Bench/Dumbbell Press:
Major Muscles Worked-All Pectorals
Incline Bench/Dumbbell Press:
Major Muscles Worked-Upper Pectorals
Dumbbell Fly:
Major Muscles Worked-All/Inner Pectorals
Back Exercises
Pull-up:
Major Muscles Worked-Lats
Lat Pulldowns:
Major Muscles Worked-Lats and Teres Major
Hyperexyensions:
Major Muscles Worked-Lower Back, Hamstrings, and Glutes
Barbell Rows:
Major Muscles Worked-Lats, Rhomboids, and Teres Major
Shrugs:
Major Muscles Worked-Trapezius
Shoulder Exercises
Military Press:
Major Muscle Worked-Anteroir Deltoids
Lateral Dumbbell Raise:
Major Muscles Worked-All Deltoids
Posterial Lateral Raise:
Major Muscles Worked-Posterial Deltoids
Tricep Exercises
Close-Grip Bench Press:
Major Muscles Worked-Triceps
Tricep Pulldowns:
Major Muscles Worked-Triceps
Bicep Exercises
Barbell Curls:
Major Muscles Worked-Biceps
Incline Dumbbell Curls:
Major Muscles Worked-Biceps
Calves
Standing Calf Raises:
Major Muscles Worked-Total calf area
Abs
Crunches:
Major Muscles Worked-Abdominals
Leg Raises:
Major Muscles Worked-Lower Abdominals
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Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter, and you will be automatically entered
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Leg Exercises
Barbell Squats:
Major Muscles Worked-Quadriceps, hamstrings, hips, and glutes.
Leg Press:
Major Muscles Worked-Quadriceps, and hamstrings.
DeadLift:
Major Muscles Worked-Hamstrings, glutes, and lower back.
Leg Extension:
Major Muscles Worked-Quadriceps
Leg Curls:
Major Muscles Worked-Hamstrings
Calf Raises:
Major Muscles Worked- All calf muscles.
Chest Exercises
Bench/Dumbbell Press:
Major Muscles Worked-All Pectorals
Incline Bench/Dumbbell Press:
Major Muscles Worked-Upper Pectorals
Dumbbell Fly:
Major Muscles Worked-All/Inner Pectorals
Back Exercises
Pull-up:
Major Muscles Worked-Lats
Lat Pulldowns:
Major Muscles Worked-Lats and Teres Major
Hyperexyensions:
Major Muscles Worked-Lower Back, Hamstrings, and Glutes
Barbell Rows:
Major Muscles Worked-Lats, Rhomboids, and Teres Major
Shrugs:
Major Muscles Worked-Trapezius
Shoulder Exercises
Military Press:
Major Muscle Worked-Anteroir Deltoids
Lateral Dumbbell Raise:
Major Muscles Worked-All Deltoids
Posterial Lateral Raise:
Major Muscles Worked-Posterial Deltoids
Tricep Exercises
Close-Grip Bench Press:
Major Muscles Worked-Triceps
Tricep Pulldowns:
Major Muscles Worked-Triceps
Bicep Exercises
Barbell Curls:
Major Muscles Worked-Biceps
Incline Dumbbell Curls:
Major Muscles Worked-Biceps
Calves
Standing Calf Raises:
Major Muscles Worked-Total calf area
Abs
Crunches:
Major Muscles Worked-Abdominals
Leg Raises:
Major Muscles Worked-Lower Abdominals
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Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter, and you will be automatically entered
in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes.
Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
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Thursday, October 25, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Bodybuilding's 10 Commandments
1. Thou Shall Lift Big
Give your muscles a reason to grow but jumping into something right
off the bat is dumb.. Be intense, and lift heavy weight that you
can only lift 6-12 times. Going heavy does not means to throw
form out the window, but to lift as heavy as you can while staying
in control, and keeping good form.
2. Thou Shall Eat Big
You must eat to grow, and keeping your body in that energy state is
crucial. To estimate how many calories you should be consuming
times your body weight by 16-18 so you can shoot for your nutrition
in take. Eat 6 meals a day with breakfast, and post-workout being
the biggest meals.
3. Thou Shall Sleep
Recovery is key. Remember that muscle building does not take place
in the gym, but while your resting, watching tv, and so on. In the
gym we break down our muscle fibers, and when we rest they rebuild
so they may be strong the next time you workout. You can think of
it as a defense mechanism. Getting enough sleep is crucial and it
is said you need at least 8 hours every night.
4. Thou Shall Drink Large Amounts of Water
Carry that drink bottle with you at all times to keep your body
hydrated, and keep your muscle growing. Keeping yourself well
hydrated so you can train at your best but also because our
muscles are around 75% water and that means we get dehydrated
our muscle will go to cramp. Just drink more water it will help.
5. Thou Shall Be Committed
If you're not sick or injured, you must train, you must eat, and
you have a mind set of a bodybuilder. You start skipping... you
might as well forget those dreams. You must want to become that
impressive physique before you can begin building it. Get
yourself a reliable training partner and make training a
necessity, not an obligation. Make it your number 1 priority.
6. Thou Shall Squat
If you have legs, a desire to grow and your back is OK, you will
squat. Without the king of exercises, your growth is going to
suffer. Squats develop more than just legs. Squats are an a
ll-round body blaster squat and grow. Test and studies have
shown that people that do squats gain almost 40% more chest
muscle than people who don't squat. I'll say it again, squat
and grow...
7. Thou Shall Not Be Afraid of Change
Change your routine around frequently. Every 3-6 weeks, vary
the order that you do your routine, change your whole style
altogether or even do your workout backwards (it works). Try
high reps, low reps, high sets, 1 set you name it try it and
see what works for you. Our bodies try to adapt to everything
and as soon as your muscles adapt to your workout kiss your
muscle gains good bye.
8. Thou Shall Not Overtrain
Do not train the same body parts within 3 days; leave 5 days
for optimal recovery and growth. If your progress is slowing,
you're getting injured or sick frequently, then it's time to
take a break. Take a week off, and then go back at it. Don't
be surprised if you're stronger after your layoff. Overtaining
is the biggest factor that can destroy your hard earn muscle
gains and turn them in a headache. First signs of overtaining
stop, and rest.
9. Thou Shall Not Neglect Injuries
Once you're injured, take a break. Lose 2 weeks training now,
or prepare to keep those injuries forever. I suffered through
a 6 month shoulder injury because I didn't quit when I was
injuried. Don't be dumb like I was because your health is
more important.
10. Thou Shall Learn Right Supplementation
There are four supplements you need to gain muscle The first one
is a multi-vitamin. Don't you wish we could get enough vitamins
through our food, so do I. But when putting our bodies through
all this pain they need a lot more vitamins then someone who
just exercises a couple times a week. If you want to grow than
get the right amount of vitamins. The second one is whey protein.
Whey is a fast absorbing protein that should be taken right
after a workout, or is just a great way to increase your protein
in take.
The third on is glutamine. This is probably the most important
of all as it helps with recovery, maintaining muscle mass, and
the rebuilding of muscle tissue. Glutamine should be the first
thing taken after a workout so it can go right to work and
start building the muscle tissue back up. The last one is
creatine. If you want to increase your workload and build
muscle faster than creatine is a great a to use heavier
weight than normal resulting in muscle and strength gain
in less time.
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Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter, and you will be automatically entered
in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes.
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1. Thou Shall Lift Big
Give your muscles a reason to grow but jumping into something right
off the bat is dumb.. Be intense, and lift heavy weight that you
can only lift 6-12 times. Going heavy does not means to throw
form out the window, but to lift as heavy as you can while staying
in control, and keeping good form.
2. Thou Shall Eat Big
You must eat to grow, and keeping your body in that energy state is
crucial. To estimate how many calories you should be consuming
times your body weight by 16-18 so you can shoot for your nutrition
in take. Eat 6 meals a day with breakfast, and post-workout being
the biggest meals.
3. Thou Shall Sleep
Recovery is key. Remember that muscle building does not take place
in the gym, but while your resting, watching tv, and so on. In the
gym we break down our muscle fibers, and when we rest they rebuild
so they may be strong the next time you workout. You can think of
it as a defense mechanism. Getting enough sleep is crucial and it
is said you need at least 8 hours every night.
4. Thou Shall Drink Large Amounts of Water
Carry that drink bottle with you at all times to keep your body
hydrated, and keep your muscle growing. Keeping yourself well
hydrated so you can train at your best but also because our
muscles are around 75% water and that means we get dehydrated
our muscle will go to cramp. Just drink more water it will help.
5. Thou Shall Be Committed
If you're not sick or injured, you must train, you must eat, and
you have a mind set of a bodybuilder. You start skipping... you
might as well forget those dreams. You must want to become that
impressive physique before you can begin building it. Get
yourself a reliable training partner and make training a
necessity, not an obligation. Make it your number 1 priority.
6. Thou Shall Squat
If you have legs, a desire to grow and your back is OK, you will
squat. Without the king of exercises, your growth is going to
suffer. Squats develop more than just legs. Squats are an a
ll-round body blaster squat and grow. Test and studies have
shown that people that do squats gain almost 40% more chest
muscle than people who don't squat. I'll say it again, squat
and grow...
7. Thou Shall Not Be Afraid of Change
Change your routine around frequently. Every 3-6 weeks, vary
the order that you do your routine, change your whole style
altogether or even do your workout backwards (it works). Try
high reps, low reps, high sets, 1 set you name it try it and
see what works for you. Our bodies try to adapt to everything
and as soon as your muscles adapt to your workout kiss your
muscle gains good bye.
8. Thou Shall Not Overtrain
Do not train the same body parts within 3 days; leave 5 days
for optimal recovery and growth. If your progress is slowing,
you're getting injured or sick frequently, then it's time to
take a break. Take a week off, and then go back at it. Don't
be surprised if you're stronger after your layoff. Overtaining
is the biggest factor that can destroy your hard earn muscle
gains and turn them in a headache. First signs of overtaining
stop, and rest.
9. Thou Shall Not Neglect Injuries
Once you're injured, take a break. Lose 2 weeks training now,
or prepare to keep those injuries forever. I suffered through
a 6 month shoulder injury because I didn't quit when I was
injuried. Don't be dumb like I was because your health is
more important.
10. Thou Shall Learn Right Supplementation
There are four supplements you need to gain muscle The first one
is a multi-vitamin. Don't you wish we could get enough vitamins
through our food, so do I. But when putting our bodies through
all this pain they need a lot more vitamins then someone who
just exercises a couple times a week. If you want to grow than
get the right amount of vitamins. The second one is whey protein.
Whey is a fast absorbing protein that should be taken right
after a workout, or is just a great way to increase your protein
in take.
The third on is glutamine. This is probably the most important
of all as it helps with recovery, maintaining muscle mass, and
the rebuilding of muscle tissue. Glutamine should be the first
thing taken after a workout so it can go right to work and
start building the muscle tissue back up. The last one is
creatine. If you want to increase your workload and build
muscle faster than creatine is a great a to use heavier
weight than normal resulting in muscle and strength gain
in less time.
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Saturday, October 20, 2007
Eat Healthy Fats
Researchers performing a study for Loma Linda University (California)
concluded that consuming dietary fats may not necessarily make you
fat. The study, published in the Journal of Obesity, compared two
low-calorie plans similar in calorie and protein in take (about 1,015
calories and 30% protein), but differing in fat and carbohydrate
content.
The higher-fat plan consisted of 39% fat-most of it from almonds (84g)
–and 32% carbohydrates. The higher-carb plan consisted of 53% carbs,
from complex-carb sources, and 18% fat. The subjects followed their
plans for 24 weeks, and then researchers compared the results. Those
who added almonds lost 62% more, and 50% more from their waistlines
compared to those on the complex-carb-supplemented diet.
Recommendation: To get lean, include healthy fats found in nuts,
seeds, olives and fatty fish. At the same time, lower your carb
in take so that you're not consuming extra calories.
Use The Glycemic Index (GI) Of Foods
The GI is a scale that ranges from 0-100 and rates how quickly a
food gets digested and raises blood glucose levels. New studies from
Loughborough University (Loughborough, England) examined the effects
of low-and high-GI foods on insulin, muscle glycogen and fat
utilization, discovering that when athletes ate low-GI carbs at
breakfast and lunch, they had lower insulin levels and burned more
fat during the day as compared to those who ate high-GI carbs. They
also found that muscle glycogen was better spared in those who ate
low-GI and then trained, most likely a result of greater fat use
during the workout.
Recommendation: Before you workout, don't consume foods that rank
high on the glycemix index (75-100); right after you work out, though,
choose high-GI carbs to crank up insulin and muscle growth. Low-GI
foods include oatmeal, apples, bananas, oranges, and sweet potatoes.
Ranking high on the glycemic index are Gatorade, plain bagels, white
bread, corn flakes, Rice Krispies cereal, Cream of Wheat, rice cakes
and baked potatoes.
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Researchers performing a study for Loma Linda University (California)
concluded that consuming dietary fats may not necessarily make you
fat. The study, published in the Journal of Obesity, compared two
low-calorie plans similar in calorie and protein in take (about 1,015
calories and 30% protein), but differing in fat and carbohydrate
content.
The higher-fat plan consisted of 39% fat-most of it from almonds (84g)
–and 32% carbohydrates. The higher-carb plan consisted of 53% carbs,
from complex-carb sources, and 18% fat. The subjects followed their
plans for 24 weeks, and then researchers compared the results. Those
who added almonds lost 62% more, and 50% more from their waistlines
compared to those on the complex-carb-supplemented diet.
Recommendation: To get lean, include healthy fats found in nuts,
seeds, olives and fatty fish. At the same time, lower your carb
in take so that you're not consuming extra calories.
Use The Glycemic Index (GI) Of Foods
The GI is a scale that ranges from 0-100 and rates how quickly a
food gets digested and raises blood glucose levels. New studies from
Loughborough University (Loughborough, England) examined the effects
of low-and high-GI foods on insulin, muscle glycogen and fat
utilization, discovering that when athletes ate low-GI carbs at
breakfast and lunch, they had lower insulin levels and burned more
fat during the day as compared to those who ate high-GI carbs. They
also found that muscle glycogen was better spared in those who ate
low-GI and then trained, most likely a result of greater fat use
during the workout.
Recommendation: Before you workout, don't consume foods that rank
high on the glycemix index (75-100); right after you work out, though,
choose high-GI carbs to crank up insulin and muscle growth. Low-GI
foods include oatmeal, apples, bananas, oranges, and sweet potatoes.
Ranking high on the glycemic index are Gatorade, plain bagels, white
bread, corn flakes, Rice Krispies cereal, Cream of Wheat, rice cakes
and baked potatoes.
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Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter, and you will be automatically entered
in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes.
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Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Ten Tips For Those Who Want To Build Muscle
By Charles R. Taylor MCSD
1. Eat Enough
To gain muscle mass is difficult because the body struggles to
stay the same. To gain mass you need to eat more than your body
requires to maintain its normal functions. You must eat 500 to 1000
extra calories a day to persuade the body to gain more muscle mass.
2. Eat Every Third Hour
You can wait longer between meals, but do you constantly want to be
in an anabolic phase? Your blood sugar should not sink too low, but
it will if you do not eat every 3 to 4 hours. It does not have to
be a proper meal each time you eat. A quick meal or a protein-drink
will be enough.
3. Accept a Certain Increase In Body Fat
You have to choose between building muscle or burning fat. You cannot
(or it is very hard to) do this at the same time.
4. Eat a Proper Breakfast
At night, when you are asleep, the body is subversive because you have
not been eating for several hours. This makes breakfast a very
important meal because it stops the cataclysm.
5. Vary the Food
You can become accustomed to a certain foods. If you eat the same
food for several years you can count on it that your development will
stagnate. Do not let yourself become accustomed to the same foods.
6. Choose the Right Supplement
There is an unbelievable amount of supplements on the market today. Many
of them are junk. Only use supplements that you know work. Highly
recommended supplements are creatine and extra protein. There are many
more supplements from which to choose, but these are the best from
which to start.
7. Get Enough Rest
It has been said that you grow durring sleep, and sure it is true.
Do not train more than three days in a row. Some who really want to
gain muscle will only train two or even one day at a time. The
results are often impressive.
8. Train Right
If you are not sure of how to do an exercise, ask someone that is
knowledgeable about the exercise. If you are training incorrectly
you will not grow and your chances of hurting yourself are quite
great.
9. Change the Routine
Change your training program every two months. Do not let the
muscles adapt to the same routine.
10. Make Goals and Achieve Them
To train without a goal is meaningless. Make a goal, for example,
to gain six pounds of muscle mass. Do not give up before you have
gained those extra six pounds. Use all your knowledge about
nutrition and training. It is not only more fun to train with a
goal, your progress will also increase faster. You will be more
motivated and you will train and attend to your diet perfectly.
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Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter, and you will be automatically entered
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By Charles R. Taylor MCSD
1. Eat Enough
To gain muscle mass is difficult because the body struggles to
stay the same. To gain mass you need to eat more than your body
requires to maintain its normal functions. You must eat 500 to 1000
extra calories a day to persuade the body to gain more muscle mass.
2. Eat Every Third Hour
You can wait longer between meals, but do you constantly want to be
in an anabolic phase? Your blood sugar should not sink too low, but
it will if you do not eat every 3 to 4 hours. It does not have to
be a proper meal each time you eat. A quick meal or a protein-drink
will be enough.
3. Accept a Certain Increase In Body Fat
You have to choose between building muscle or burning fat. You cannot
(or it is very hard to) do this at the same time.
4. Eat a Proper Breakfast
At night, when you are asleep, the body is subversive because you have
not been eating for several hours. This makes breakfast a very
important meal because it stops the cataclysm.
5. Vary the Food
You can become accustomed to a certain foods. If you eat the same
food for several years you can count on it that your development will
stagnate. Do not let yourself become accustomed to the same foods.
6. Choose the Right Supplement
There is an unbelievable amount of supplements on the market today. Many
of them are junk. Only use supplements that you know work. Highly
recommended supplements are creatine and extra protein. There are many
more supplements from which to choose, but these are the best from
which to start.
7. Get Enough Rest
It has been said that you grow durring sleep, and sure it is true.
Do not train more than three days in a row. Some who really want to
gain muscle will only train two or even one day at a time. The
results are often impressive.
8. Train Right
If you are not sure of how to do an exercise, ask someone that is
knowledgeable about the exercise. If you are training incorrectly
you will not grow and your chances of hurting yourself are quite
great.
9. Change the Routine
Change your training program every two months. Do not let the
muscles adapt to the same routine.
10. Make Goals and Achieve Them
To train without a goal is meaningless. Make a goal, for example,
to gain six pounds of muscle mass. Do not give up before you have
gained those extra six pounds. Use all your knowledge about
nutrition and training. It is not only more fun to train with a
goal, your progress will also increase faster. You will be more
motivated and you will train and attend to your diet perfectly.
Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, Shape Up. Sign up for our Free Weekly Bodybuilding,
Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter, and you will be automatically entered
in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes.
Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
Click Here To Sign Up Free
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Chin Ups
Let's have a quick look at the muscles involved in a chinup:
Primary Muscles:
- Lattisimus Dorsi (Lats or mid-back)
Assisting Muscles:
- Pectoralis Major (Chest)
- Biceps (Front of arm)
- Brachioradials (Forearms)
- Rhomboideus (Upper Back)
- Trapezius (Upper Back)
- Deltoids (Shoulders)
Since the lats are the primary muscles, we will concentrate on
those to start off. For the next 8 weeks, do the following
exercises, twice a week, at the beginning of your workout. Do
not do any other exercises for your mid-back: Note: After week
4, take 1 week off from this routine, then continue with the
remaining 4 weeks.
- Do as many chin ups as you can.
- No Rest
- Get yourself ready in a chin up position. Arms fully stretched.
Now only pull your shoulders up (like a shoulder shrug), without
bending your arms.
- No Rest
- Assisted chin ups. (Use a chair if need be and push off a
little with your feet to get you up)
- Rest 2 minutes
- Continue with your regular workout
You will notice that every week you will increase your full and
partial chin ups, while getting that nice V-shape in your back.
Are you having trouble doing chin ups?
The wide grip overhand chin up involves a lot of muscles, Front
of Arm (Biceps), Upper back (Rhomboids), Shoulder (Deltoid).
If you work out one of those body parts too hard before doing
your chin-ups you won't perform well, and the remaining parts
won't get a good workout, making your chin-ups... useless...
If you do have a well balanced workout program, chin ups can
give you good back blast. Here's another routine if you have
trouble increasing the number of chin-ups you can do: (Have
4x 5lb ankle weight available) Let's say the maximum amount
of chin-ups you can do in a row is 8.
(Minimize the rest in between sets, 20-30 seconds should give
you enough time to put on the ankle weights)
Start with 4 chin-ups.
Attach a 5lb ankle weight on each ankle, and do 4 more
chin-ups
Attach another 5lb ankle weight on each ankle (10 lb each
ankle total), and do chin-ups to failure. With failure this
time I mean continue going until you can't pull yourself up
another inch.
Rest a 2 minutes max, and do lat pull downs to failure with
60%-70% of your bodyweight.
(note: if you don't have a home gym and can't do lat pull
downs, put a chair under your chin up bar, and assist
slightly with your legs)
Perform this routine every 2 weeks for 8 weeks. The weeks
in between, concentrate on other shoulder, upper- and lower
back exercises. Your chin ups will improve. Do slow,
controlled movements, keep your legs crossed at the ankles.
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Let's have a quick look at the muscles involved in a chinup:
Primary Muscles:
- Lattisimus Dorsi (Lats or mid-back)
Assisting Muscles:
- Pectoralis Major (Chest)
- Biceps (Front of arm)
- Brachioradials (Forearms)
- Rhomboideus (Upper Back)
- Trapezius (Upper Back)
- Deltoids (Shoulders)
Since the lats are the primary muscles, we will concentrate on
those to start off. For the next 8 weeks, do the following
exercises, twice a week, at the beginning of your workout. Do
not do any other exercises for your mid-back: Note: After week
4, take 1 week off from this routine, then continue with the
remaining 4 weeks.
- Do as many chin ups as you can.
- No Rest
- Get yourself ready in a chin up position. Arms fully stretched.
Now only pull your shoulders up (like a shoulder shrug), without
bending your arms.
- No Rest
- Assisted chin ups. (Use a chair if need be and push off a
little with your feet to get you up)
- Rest 2 minutes
- Continue with your regular workout
You will notice that every week you will increase your full and
partial chin ups, while getting that nice V-shape in your back.
Are you having trouble doing chin ups?
The wide grip overhand chin up involves a lot of muscles, Front
of Arm (Biceps), Upper back (Rhomboids), Shoulder (Deltoid).
If you work out one of those body parts too hard before doing
your chin-ups you won't perform well, and the remaining parts
won't get a good workout, making your chin-ups... useless...
If you do have a well balanced workout program, chin ups can
give you good back blast. Here's another routine if you have
trouble increasing the number of chin-ups you can do: (Have
4x 5lb ankle weight available) Let's say the maximum amount
of chin-ups you can do in a row is 8.
(Minimize the rest in between sets, 20-30 seconds should give
you enough time to put on the ankle weights)
Start with 4 chin-ups.
Attach a 5lb ankle weight on each ankle, and do 4 more
chin-ups
Attach another 5lb ankle weight on each ankle (10 lb each
ankle total), and do chin-ups to failure. With failure this
time I mean continue going until you can't pull yourself up
another inch.
Rest a 2 minutes max, and do lat pull downs to failure with
60%-70% of your bodyweight.
(note: if you don't have a home gym and can't do lat pull
downs, put a chair under your chin up bar, and assist
slightly with your legs)
Perform this routine every 2 weeks for 8 weeks. The weeks
in between, concentrate on other shoulder, upper- and lower
back exercises. Your chin ups will improve. Do slow,
controlled movements, keep your legs crossed at the ankles.
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Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter, and you will be automatically entered
in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes.
Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
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Thursday, September 27, 2007
H.I.T. - High Intensity Training Basics
H.I.T. training is based on the theory that you can exhaust and
break down your target muscle area in one set when performed
effectively.
H.I.T. training is not for beginners. Before starting H.I.T.,
you need to know exactly when your muscles are warmed up. You
also need perfect form in your exercises. If either one of
these lack, the "high intensity" of this type of workout can
cause injury. So please, if you haven't been working out
seriously for at least 6 months, don't consider starting a
H.I.T. program.
A H.I.T. workout will target major muscle groups first.
Depending on the trainee, you will target some or all of the
muscle groups in one session. For most people a split will be
required over 2 or 3 separate sessions. The goal is to build
muscle so you need to give your muscles time to recuperate
and grow. Some H.I.T. trainers will tell you to work your
entire body in one session two to three times a week.
However medical studies suggest that most muscle groups
need a week to recover from a workout to failure.
Before starting your session you need to warm up properly.
Once the target muscle groups are warmed up, you still want
to do a warm up set before each H.I.T. set. You'll do this
set with anywhere from 25-50% of the weight you're going to
use in the target set.
The target set itself will be 8-12 repetitions with the
maximum weight you can handle. If you find that you can
go to 12 reps, you'll need to increase the weight next time.
If you find you can only do 8 reps, you can either stick
with that weight until you can do 10 or more, or go
slightly lower. Always make sure that you have slow,
controlled movements in perfect form.
Your goal however, should be to slightly increase the
weight each week, even if it's just by a pound. Over a
year that does make a 50 pound increase if you can keep
it steady.
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Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter, and you will be automatically entered
in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes.
Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
Click Here To Sign Up Free
H.I.T. training is based on the theory that you can exhaust and
break down your target muscle area in one set when performed
effectively.
H.I.T. training is not for beginners. Before starting H.I.T.,
you need to know exactly when your muscles are warmed up. You
also need perfect form in your exercises. If either one of
these lack, the "high intensity" of this type of workout can
cause injury. So please, if you haven't been working out
seriously for at least 6 months, don't consider starting a
H.I.T. program.
A H.I.T. workout will target major muscle groups first.
Depending on the trainee, you will target some or all of the
muscle groups in one session. For most people a split will be
required over 2 or 3 separate sessions. The goal is to build
muscle so you need to give your muscles time to recuperate
and grow. Some H.I.T. trainers will tell you to work your
entire body in one session two to three times a week.
However medical studies suggest that most muscle groups
need a week to recover from a workout to failure.
Before starting your session you need to warm up properly.
Once the target muscle groups are warmed up, you still want
to do a warm up set before each H.I.T. set. You'll do this
set with anywhere from 25-50% of the weight you're going to
use in the target set.
The target set itself will be 8-12 repetitions with the
maximum weight you can handle. If you find that you can
go to 12 reps, you'll need to increase the weight next time.
If you find you can only do 8 reps, you can either stick
with that weight until you can do 10 or more, or go
slightly lower. Always make sure that you have slow,
controlled movements in perfect form.
Your goal however, should be to slightly increase the
weight each week, even if it's just by a pound. Over a
year that does make a 50 pound increase if you can keep
it steady.
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Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter, and you will be automatically entered
in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes.
Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
Click Here To Sign Up Free
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Are you Bulking or Cutting?
By Zach Bashore
Very few people possess the knowledge needed to successfully gain
muscle or lose fat. A person may know how to lose fat but most
of you don't know how to keep all of your hard earned muscle in
the process. On the flip side, you may know how to gain muscle,
but you need to learn how to gain this muscle without the fear
of fat gain. I am going to discuss the basics of bulking and
cutting and hopefully give you the knowledge needed to complete
your next bulking or cutting diet.
Bulking is simply eating more calories than what you are used to
eating, but it`s not as simple as it seems. Your calories need
to be from healthy bodybuilding foods and not from junk foods
like pizza, chips, and cookies. The other hard part of bulking is
determining your BMR or basal metabolic Rate.(Your BMR is
basically the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed
all day.) To start, you should eat 500 calories over maintenance
everyday. If you your gaining to much fat after a week reduce
that number to 300. If you seem to not be getting any bigger then
you should increase that number to 700 calories.
While cutting, your prime concern should be keeping muscle loss to
a minimum. That is why you don`t want to crash diet and try losing
weight to fast or you're most likely going to lose most of your
hard earned muscle. To start, you should lower your calories from
your BMR to roughly 300 fewer calories a day. You can change that
number according to the results but 300 is a good number to start
out at. You can either eat less food or do more cardiovascular
exercise to burn these calories. How you do it will depend on
the individual.
Some bodybuilders like to bulk up to the size of elephants before
they decide that they`ve gained to much fat, and then they go on
a cutting diet. Others seem to always be sporting a low bodyfat
percentage year round and slowly gain muscle as time goes on. Again,
how you go about it will depend on personal preference. I always
try to stay relatively lean even during the off season because I
cannot stand the thought of gaining fat.
So can I gain muscle while losing bodyfat as well? Some
bodybuilders genetics allow for this while most of us sit in awe
wondering how they did it. The use of steroids allow for fat
loss and muscle gain at the same time but they are illegal and
have unhealthy side effects.
You need to decide what you want to do with your body right now.
Do you carry around to much fat, are you to skinny, to small in
the upper body? All of these factors determine what you decide
to do with yourself. You are the only one responsible for the
results you receive.
Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, Shape Up. Sign up for our Free Weekly Bodybuilding,
Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter,and you will be automatically entered
in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes.
Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
Click Here To Sign Up Free
By Zach Bashore
Very few people possess the knowledge needed to successfully gain
muscle or lose fat. A person may know how to lose fat but most
of you don't know how to keep all of your hard earned muscle in
the process. On the flip side, you may know how to gain muscle,
but you need to learn how to gain this muscle without the fear
of fat gain. I am going to discuss the basics of bulking and
cutting and hopefully give you the knowledge needed to complete
your next bulking or cutting diet.
Bulking is simply eating more calories than what you are used to
eating, but it`s not as simple as it seems. Your calories need
to be from healthy bodybuilding foods and not from junk foods
like pizza, chips, and cookies. The other hard part of bulking is
determining your BMR or basal metabolic Rate.(Your BMR is
basically the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed
all day.) To start, you should eat 500 calories over maintenance
everyday. If you your gaining to much fat after a week reduce
that number to 300. If you seem to not be getting any bigger then
you should increase that number to 700 calories.
While cutting, your prime concern should be keeping muscle loss to
a minimum. That is why you don`t want to crash diet and try losing
weight to fast or you're most likely going to lose most of your
hard earned muscle. To start, you should lower your calories from
your BMR to roughly 300 fewer calories a day. You can change that
number according to the results but 300 is a good number to start
out at. You can either eat less food or do more cardiovascular
exercise to burn these calories. How you do it will depend on
the individual.
Some bodybuilders like to bulk up to the size of elephants before
they decide that they`ve gained to much fat, and then they go on
a cutting diet. Others seem to always be sporting a low bodyfat
percentage year round and slowly gain muscle as time goes on. Again,
how you go about it will depend on personal preference. I always
try to stay relatively lean even during the off season because I
cannot stand the thought of gaining fat.
So can I gain muscle while losing bodyfat as well? Some
bodybuilders genetics allow for this while most of us sit in awe
wondering how they did it. The use of steroids allow for fat
loss and muscle gain at the same time but they are illegal and
have unhealthy side effects.
You need to decide what you want to do with your body right now.
Do you carry around to much fat, are you to skinny, to small in
the upper body? All of these factors determine what you decide
to do with yourself. You are the only one responsible for the
results you receive.
Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, Shape Up. Sign up for our Free Weekly Bodybuilding,
Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter,and you will be automatically entered
in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes.
Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
Click Here To Sign Up Free
Friday, August 03, 2007
Four Day High Intensity Training Program
For each exericse do 3 sets 12, 10 and 8 reps adding weight each
set. For each exercise only the last set intended to be performed
to failure. Any sets prior to the last are simply warm-ups.
Monday
Chest and Triceps
Incline Barbell Presses
Hammer Strength Machine Presses
Incline Dumbbell Fly
Cable Crossovers
Skull Crushers
Dips
Tricep Pushdowns
Tuesday
Quads and Calves
Leg press
Hack Squat
Leg Extensions
Standing Calf Raise
Seated Calf Raise
Wednesday
Rest Day
Thursday
Back and Biceps
Deadlifts
Bent-over rows
Lat Pulldowns
Standing Barbell Curls
Preacher Curls
Alternating Dumbbell Curls
Friday
Hamstrings and Shoulders
Stiff Leg Deadlifts
Leg Curls
Overhead Press
Side Lateral Raises
Rear Lateral Raises
Shrugs
Saturday & Sunday
Rest Days.
Do forearms, and abs when convenient. I try to hit abs and forearms
twice a week. Make sure your nutrition is top notch and ensure
high-intensity effort in your workouts, that is the key to the
whole program.
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For each exericse do 3 sets 12, 10 and 8 reps adding weight each
set. For each exercise only the last set intended to be performed
to failure. Any sets prior to the last are simply warm-ups.
Monday
Chest and Triceps
Incline Barbell Presses
Hammer Strength Machine Presses
Incline Dumbbell Fly
Cable Crossovers
Skull Crushers
Dips
Tricep Pushdowns
Tuesday
Quads and Calves
Leg press
Hack Squat
Leg Extensions
Standing Calf Raise
Seated Calf Raise
Wednesday
Rest Day
Thursday
Back and Biceps
Deadlifts
Bent-over rows
Lat Pulldowns
Standing Barbell Curls
Preacher Curls
Alternating Dumbbell Curls
Friday
Hamstrings and Shoulders
Stiff Leg Deadlifts
Leg Curls
Overhead Press
Side Lateral Raises
Rear Lateral Raises
Shrugs
Saturday & Sunday
Rest Days.
Do forearms, and abs when convenient. I try to hit abs and forearms
twice a week. Make sure your nutrition is top notch and ensure
high-intensity effort in your workouts, that is the key to the
whole program.
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Saturday, July 07, 2007
Powerliting Basics
Powerlifting is a competitive sport that is also used to develop
the body and help athletes prepare for other sports. Powerlifting
allows you to strengthen and perfect your body, test your
abilities and help you feel good about yourself. The sport of
powerlifting was developed to test the strength of its competitors
in three events; the squat, the benchpress and the deadlift.
The Squat:
In the squat, the barbell is positioned horizontally across the back
of the shoulders; the hands steady and balance the bar. From a
standing position, the lifter bends the knees and lowers the body
until the top surface of the legs at the hip joint is lower than the
top of the knees. This defines a correct squat depth; few people
in the gym squat to this depth. From this lowered position, the
lifter returns to an upright, standing position. Contrary to popular
belief, the squat is not unusually tough on the lower back or knees.
If done properly - straight, upright back, knees in alignment with
feet - you should experience only the soreness indicative of a good
workout.
The Bench Press:
Most people are familiar with the Bench Press -- lower a barbell
to your chest and push it up, right? Well, there's a bit more to
the technique in competitive powerlifting. First of all, there's
a pause at the bottom. After you've lowered the bar to your chest
and it is still, you are given the command to "press" it up. No
bouncing the bar off your chest. Also, your head, shoulders, and
buttocks must remain on the bench and the feet must be flat on the
floor. These contact points cannot move during the lift. Sometimes
you see lifters get an arch in their back between the buttocks and
shoulders.
The Deadlift:
The deadlift involves lifting a loaded barbell from the floor (the
bar is actually about 10" off the ground) to a standing position.
There are two general styles of deadlifting: conventional and sumo.
With conventional style, the feet are fairly close together, and the
hands grasp the bar outside of the legs. The knees and hips are
bent and do the majority of the lifting; the back must remain as
straight and upright as possible. Sumo style uses a very wide
stance and the arms grasp the bar in front of and between the legs.
In some cases, the stance is so wide that the toes almost touch the
plates at either end of the barbell. From the lowered position,
the knees and hips are used to drive the body upward. This style
is favored often by taller people with longer arms. The deadlift
is probably the easiest lift to judge - it goes up or it doesn't.
However, sometimes a lifter will "hitch" or ride the weight up
his or her legs. This is not allowed. The lifter must "lock out"
or be in a full standing position, not hunched forward.
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Powerlifting is a competitive sport that is also used to develop
the body and help athletes prepare for other sports. Powerlifting
allows you to strengthen and perfect your body, test your
abilities and help you feel good about yourself. The sport of
powerlifting was developed to test the strength of its competitors
in three events; the squat, the benchpress and the deadlift.
The Squat:
In the squat, the barbell is positioned horizontally across the back
of the shoulders; the hands steady and balance the bar. From a
standing position, the lifter bends the knees and lowers the body
until the top surface of the legs at the hip joint is lower than the
top of the knees. This defines a correct squat depth; few people
in the gym squat to this depth. From this lowered position, the
lifter returns to an upright, standing position. Contrary to popular
belief, the squat is not unusually tough on the lower back or knees.
If done properly - straight, upright back, knees in alignment with
feet - you should experience only the soreness indicative of a good
workout.
The Bench Press:
Most people are familiar with the Bench Press -- lower a barbell
to your chest and push it up, right? Well, there's a bit more to
the technique in competitive powerlifting. First of all, there's
a pause at the bottom. After you've lowered the bar to your chest
and it is still, you are given the command to "press" it up. No
bouncing the bar off your chest. Also, your head, shoulders, and
buttocks must remain on the bench and the feet must be flat on the
floor. These contact points cannot move during the lift. Sometimes
you see lifters get an arch in their back between the buttocks and
shoulders.
The Deadlift:
The deadlift involves lifting a loaded barbell from the floor (the
bar is actually about 10" off the ground) to a standing position.
There are two general styles of deadlifting: conventional and sumo.
With conventional style, the feet are fairly close together, and the
hands grasp the bar outside of the legs. The knees and hips are
bent and do the majority of the lifting; the back must remain as
straight and upright as possible. Sumo style uses a very wide
stance and the arms grasp the bar in front of and between the legs.
In some cases, the stance is so wide that the toes almost touch the
plates at either end of the barbell. From the lowered position,
the knees and hips are used to drive the body upward. This style
is favored often by taller people with longer arms. The deadlift
is probably the easiest lift to judge - it goes up or it doesn't.
However, sometimes a lifter will "hitch" or ride the weight up
his or her legs. This is not allowed. The lifter must "lock out"
or be in a full standing position, not hunched forward.
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Wednesday, June 20, 2007
The Truth About Antidepressants
In September 2005, following confirma... In September 2005, following confirmation that Red Lake Indian Reservation school shooter, Jeff Weise, was under the influence of the antidepressant Prozac, the National Foundation of Women Legislators, together with American Indian tribal leaders, called for a Congressional investigation into the correlation between psychiatric drug use and school massacres. Congress has yet to investigate the role of psychiatric drugs relating to school shootings despite international drug regulators warning these drugs can cause mania, psychosis, hallucinations, suicide and homicidal ideation. At least eight of the recent school shooters were under the influence of such drugs, and according to media reports, investigators working on the Virginia Tech school shootings, Cho Seung-Hui may also have been taking drugs for "depression." Filmmaker Michael Moore has also called for a federal investigation into school shooters and psychiatric drugs.
In September 2005, following confirma... In September 2005, following confirmation that Red Lake Indian Reservation school shooter, Jeff Weise, was under the influence of the antidepressant Prozac, the National Foundation of Women Legislators, together with American Indian tribal leaders, called for a Congressional investigation into the correlation between psychiatric drug use and school massacres. Congress has yet to investigate the role of psychiatric drugs relating to school shootings despite international drug regulators warning these drugs can cause mania, psychosis, hallucinations, suicide and homicidal ideation. At least eight of the recent school shooters were under the influence of such drugs, and according to media reports, investigators working on the Virginia Tech school shootings, Cho Seung-Hui may also have been taking drugs for "depression." Filmmaker Michael Moore has also called for a federal investigation into school shooters and psychiatric drugs.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Get in Shape for Wrestling
By Zach Bashore
Wrestling has always been a sport known for its toughness and need
for discipline to achieve such physical skills and movements. The
main emphasis in wrestling is the ability to create short,
explosive bursts of energy during the match to be able to execute
offensive attacks and defensive counter-strikes. There are many
different styles of wrestling which not only require these short,
explosive bursts of energy, but also require a high level of
anaerobic endurance and flexibility.
Training for wrestling is extremely intensive and grueling. It
forces you to work in an anaerobic environment where you are almost
begging for air. Muscles grow when under stress, and the goal in
wrestling is to make them grow as quickly as possible. This is
the main reason why wrestlers are the most overtrained athletes in
the world. There training split emphasises each muscle group
during every workout session. Many university wrestling teams use
a "full-body workout" such at this:
* Manual Neck
* Shoulder Shrug
* Shoulder Press
* Chin ups
* Bench Press
* Rope Climb
* Straight Bar Curls
* Dips
* Leg Press
* Calf Raise
Wrestling is a combination of two different types of athletes:
Power distance and endurance. A wrestler must get optimal
energy from each of the three different energy systems. That
means as a wrestler, you should plan your nutritional intake
to support all three systems of energy. You also need to adjust
your caloric intake in the off-season to suit your fitness
goals. That means if you want to become quicker, simply cut
your calories. If your looking to get stronger, then you
should increase your calories.
As a wrestler, your body is craving more nutrients than that
of the average person. That means it is vital that you
supplement your already strong training and nutrition program.
A good multivitamin that contains an adequate amount of Vitamins
A, B, C, and Zinc should be at the top of your supplement list.
However, the following supplements are also useful in helping
you become a better wrestler:
* Ginkgo Biloba
* Citrulline Malate
* Calcium
* Whey Protein
* Glucosamine Sulfate
* Creatine
* Glutamine
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By Zach Bashore
Wrestling has always been a sport known for its toughness and need
for discipline to achieve such physical skills and movements. The
main emphasis in wrestling is the ability to create short,
explosive bursts of energy during the match to be able to execute
offensive attacks and defensive counter-strikes. There are many
different styles of wrestling which not only require these short,
explosive bursts of energy, but also require a high level of
anaerobic endurance and flexibility.
Training for wrestling is extremely intensive and grueling. It
forces you to work in an anaerobic environment where you are almost
begging for air. Muscles grow when under stress, and the goal in
wrestling is to make them grow as quickly as possible. This is
the main reason why wrestlers are the most overtrained athletes in
the world. There training split emphasises each muscle group
during every workout session. Many university wrestling teams use
a "full-body workout" such at this:
* Manual Neck
* Shoulder Shrug
* Shoulder Press
* Chin ups
* Bench Press
* Rope Climb
* Straight Bar Curls
* Dips
* Leg Press
* Calf Raise
Wrestling is a combination of two different types of athletes:
Power distance and endurance. A wrestler must get optimal
energy from each of the three different energy systems. That
means as a wrestler, you should plan your nutritional intake
to support all three systems of energy. You also need to adjust
your caloric intake in the off-season to suit your fitness
goals. That means if you want to become quicker, simply cut
your calories. If your looking to get stronger, then you
should increase your calories.
As a wrestler, your body is craving more nutrients than that
of the average person. That means it is vital that you
supplement your already strong training and nutrition program.
A good multivitamin that contains an adequate amount of Vitamins
A, B, C, and Zinc should be at the top of your supplement list.
However, the following supplements are also useful in helping
you become a better wrestler:
* Ginkgo Biloba
* Citrulline Malate
* Calcium
* Whey Protein
* Glucosamine Sulfate
* Creatine
* Glutamine
Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, Shape Up. Sign up for our Free Weekly Bodybuilding, Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter,and you will be automatically entered in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes. Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
Click Here To Sign Up Free
Friday, June 01, 2007
Ab Exercises And other tips to get ripped abs
The six-pack, maybe the most coveted physical attribute anyone can
have are difficult to come by, and ab exercises while good, are not
the only thing to concentrate on when trying to get ripped abs.
Because fat tends to build up around the waist, even with ab
exercises definition is tough to come by. You only push the fat
on top of your ab muscles out farther when increasing the size of
your ab muscles with ab exercises. Everyone has ab muscles, the
real way is getting your body fat percentage below 10% and
lowering the amount of water your body carries to bring that
six-pack out.
The best way to get ripped abs is through both diet and exercise
(obviously).
The best exercise is aerobic exercise, like running, biking, and
the stairmaster. Getting up to your target heart rate for 30
minutes a day, and doing it at least 4 days a week, you will burn
fat and up your metabolic rate even at rest.
After you have lowered your body fat its time to build the ab
muscles with ab exercises. Start by training them 3 days a week.
Upper ab exercises - Elevated leg crunches, ab machine crunches,
cable crunches, swiss ball crunches
Lower ab exercises - Hanging leg lifts, sitting leg raises, swiss
ball leg raises
Elevated Leg Crunches - With your back on the ground and your feet
elevated sitting on a bench or a chair lift your head and shoulders
off the ground about 6 to 10 inches using your ab muscles to lift.
After you have raised your shoulders slowly return to the starting
position keeping pressure on your abs at all times as you repeat
this up and down motion.
Ab Machine Crunches - Sitting in the crunch machine push your head
and shoulders down as far as they can go. When you have pushed your
head and shoulders down as far as they can go hold it there for
a couple seconds, and then return to the starting position keeping
pressure on your ab muscles the whole time, and repeat.
Cable Crunches - On your knees grab the cable and pull down using
your ab muscles. When you have pulled as far as you can go stay for
a two second count, return to the starting position and repeat
keeping pressure on your abs at all times.
Swiss Ball Crunches - With your back on the ball and your feet on
theground, position yourself so your upper butt is supporting your
weight on the ball. Move your shoulders up and down keeping
constant pressure on your ab muscles.
Hanging Leg Lifts - Your body vertical and your elbows supporting
your weight on the leg lift equipment, or if there is no leg lift
equipment hanging from a bar using your hands lift your knees to
your chest, return to the starting position keeping constant
pressure on your abs and repeat.
Sitting Leg Raises - Laying with your back and shoulders on the
ground lift your straight legs in the air about 20 inches. Stop
and lower your legs until they are about 2 inches off the ground
and repeat.
Swiss Ball Leg Raises - Laying with your back on the ball and
positioned by something you can hold on to lean back and grab with
both hands that object. With your weight on you lower back lift
your legs up and down keeping pressure on your abs at all times.
I advise avoid doing oblique exercises, because by working your
obliques you are taking away from that v-shaped look you are
looking for. So unless you have a naturally thin waist and very
low body fat, I would stay away from oblique exercises. Your
obliques will get enough work from your regular ab exercises
anyway.
Supplements such at Quick Trim can also help you in getting
your own set of ripped abs.
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Click Here To Sign Up Free
The six-pack, maybe the most coveted physical attribute anyone can
have are difficult to come by, and ab exercises while good, are not
the only thing to concentrate on when trying to get ripped abs.
Because fat tends to build up around the waist, even with ab
exercises definition is tough to come by. You only push the fat
on top of your ab muscles out farther when increasing the size of
your ab muscles with ab exercises. Everyone has ab muscles, the
real way is getting your body fat percentage below 10% and
lowering the amount of water your body carries to bring that
six-pack out.
The best way to get ripped abs is through both diet and exercise
(obviously).
The best exercise is aerobic exercise, like running, biking, and
the stairmaster. Getting up to your target heart rate for 30
minutes a day, and doing it at least 4 days a week, you will burn
fat and up your metabolic rate even at rest.
After you have lowered your body fat its time to build the ab
muscles with ab exercises. Start by training them 3 days a week.
Upper ab exercises - Elevated leg crunches, ab machine crunches,
cable crunches, swiss ball crunches
Lower ab exercises - Hanging leg lifts, sitting leg raises, swiss
ball leg raises
Elevated Leg Crunches - With your back on the ground and your feet
elevated sitting on a bench or a chair lift your head and shoulders
off the ground about 6 to 10 inches using your ab muscles to lift.
After you have raised your shoulders slowly return to the starting
position keeping pressure on your abs at all times as you repeat
this up and down motion.
Ab Machine Crunches - Sitting in the crunch machine push your head
and shoulders down as far as they can go. When you have pushed your
head and shoulders down as far as they can go hold it there for
a couple seconds, and then return to the starting position keeping
pressure on your ab muscles the whole time, and repeat.
Cable Crunches - On your knees grab the cable and pull down using
your ab muscles. When you have pulled as far as you can go stay for
a two second count, return to the starting position and repeat
keeping pressure on your abs at all times.
Swiss Ball Crunches - With your back on the ball and your feet on
theground, position yourself so your upper butt is supporting your
weight on the ball. Move your shoulders up and down keeping
constant pressure on your ab muscles.
Hanging Leg Lifts - Your body vertical and your elbows supporting
your weight on the leg lift equipment, or if there is no leg lift
equipment hanging from a bar using your hands lift your knees to
your chest, return to the starting position keeping constant
pressure on your abs and repeat.
Sitting Leg Raises - Laying with your back and shoulders on the
ground lift your straight legs in the air about 20 inches. Stop
and lower your legs until they are about 2 inches off the ground
and repeat.
Swiss Ball Leg Raises - Laying with your back on the ball and
positioned by something you can hold on to lean back and grab with
both hands that object. With your weight on you lower back lift
your legs up and down keeping pressure on your abs at all times.
I advise avoid doing oblique exercises, because by working your
obliques you are taking away from that v-shaped look you are
looking for. So unless you have a naturally thin waist and very
low body fat, I would stay away from oblique exercises. Your
obliques will get enough work from your regular ab exercises
anyway.
Supplements such at Quick Trim can also help you in getting
your own set of ripped abs.
Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, Shape Up. Sign up for our Free Weekly Bodybuilding, Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter,and you will be automatically entered in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes. Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
Click Here To Sign Up Free
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Advanced Techniques
You can't get past a certain poundage on a certain exercise no
matter what? Sound familiar? When you've been lifting for two
years or so, you might start hitting a wall in your training.
It's called a Plateau. Plateaus are when the training seems to
be making no advancements but seems to get stale, tiring. Well,
the fastest gains you make will be in the first two years of
your training. After that, gains are hard fought.
Here are some techniques that all can use to spice up that
training to break that plateau. Warning: this is not for the
beginner in training, if you been lifting less than a year
and you're hittin' the wall, you're just straight out not
training right.
Technique:
1. Trisets - Using three exercises targeting the muscle group
and performing them in quick succession with little rest.
2. Giant Sets - Similar to Trisets but the set range is 4-6 sets.
It can target the same muscle group or two antagonist groups
(exp. 2 sets biceps followed by two sets triceps).
3. Continuous Tension - Moving the bar slowly over the entire
range of motion.
4. Partial Reps - After taking the muscle to failure and you can
no longer complete a full rep, take it only through half the
range of motion.
5. Negative Reps - Your spotter takes a load that's heavy enough
you could not perform one rep of the exercise. The spotter helps
you get the bar to the finish point of the exercise. Then it's
up to you. You let the bar down to the starting point of the
exercise while resisting the whole time.
6. Stripping Methods - Start heavy with low reps, strip off a
couple of plates, do more reps with the lighter bar. So on
and so on.
7. Pre-exhaustion - Hitting the smaller muscle groups before the
mass movement that targets the same area. ex.) pec deck exercise
before bench press.
8. Supersets - Two exercises done back to back with little rest.
Usually between antagonistic muscle groups.
9. Powerlifiting - Check out some of the sites on the net
about powerlifiting (bench press, Squats, Deadlifts, etc.)
10. Rest - This one of the most underrated techniques of
pushing past your limit. Have you been lifting a long time
with no layoffs? Try taking two weeks off and come back
stronger.
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Click Here To Sign Up Free
You can't get past a certain poundage on a certain exercise no
matter what? Sound familiar? When you've been lifting for two
years or so, you might start hitting a wall in your training.
It's called a Plateau. Plateaus are when the training seems to
be making no advancements but seems to get stale, tiring. Well,
the fastest gains you make will be in the first two years of
your training. After that, gains are hard fought.
Here are some techniques that all can use to spice up that
training to break that plateau. Warning: this is not for the
beginner in training, if you been lifting less than a year
and you're hittin' the wall, you're just straight out not
training right.
Technique:
1. Trisets - Using three exercises targeting the muscle group
and performing them in quick succession with little rest.
2. Giant Sets - Similar to Trisets but the set range is 4-6 sets.
It can target the same muscle group or two antagonist groups
(exp. 2 sets biceps followed by two sets triceps).
3. Continuous Tension - Moving the bar slowly over the entire
range of motion.
4. Partial Reps - After taking the muscle to failure and you can
no longer complete a full rep, take it only through half the
range of motion.
5. Negative Reps - Your spotter takes a load that's heavy enough
you could not perform one rep of the exercise. The spotter helps
you get the bar to the finish point of the exercise. Then it's
up to you. You let the bar down to the starting point of the
exercise while resisting the whole time.
6. Stripping Methods - Start heavy with low reps, strip off a
couple of plates, do more reps with the lighter bar. So on
and so on.
7. Pre-exhaustion - Hitting the smaller muscle groups before the
mass movement that targets the same area. ex.) pec deck exercise
before bench press.
8. Supersets - Two exercises done back to back with little rest.
Usually between antagonistic muscle groups.
9. Powerlifiting - Check out some of the sites on the net
about powerlifiting (bench press, Squats, Deadlifts, etc.)
10. Rest - This one of the most underrated techniques of
pushing past your limit. Have you been lifting a long time
with no layoffs? Try taking two weeks off and come back
stronger.
Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, Shape Up. Sign up for our Free Weekly Bodybuilding, Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter,and you will be automatically entered in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes. Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
Click Here To Sign Up Free
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
The Mentzer Heavy Duty system
by Gregory T. Glading
I am a former professional wrestler who can testify that the Mentzer,
Auther Jones heavy duty system works. It also works in a way that
the traditional multi-set system doesn't. The Mentzer system does bring
greater and more rapid strength gains. Nevertheless, that is not the
biggest benefit of Mr. Mentzer's system. The biggest benefit is saving
Time. I remember seriously getting into body building in the
Mid-Seventies. Body builders such as Arnold, Frank Zane, and Franco
Colombu were the tops in my mind and if I could only look like them,
fame, fortune, and chicks would be mine. Therefore, I threw myself into
training. I followed the workouts that Arnold and Franco would endorse
in the Weider magazines. Six-days a week, double split, three-hours a
day. On some days I would not leave the gym until 2:00 am.
Relationships? No time. Once I had that Arnold or Zane body, the
chicks would flock to me.
Here was my work-out life's critical moment. I ran into an acquaintance
from the previous Spring late that September. All he said was, "Hi, I
remember meeting you last April. Good to see you again." It dawned on
me that he didn't notice any change in my body. So now I realized it.
I sacrificed an entire summer in the gym and had nothing to show for it.
At first I scoffed at the Mentzer system and the idea of one set to
failure. I surely needed a change so sent-away for his course (Why not?
I did the same for the Arnold, Franco, Frank Zane, and Robbie Robinson
previously). A wonderful thing happened. I started making gains. An
even more wonderful thing happened. I started to have a life. I soon
developed other interests such as music, sports, and literature. I met
a girlfriend (Whom I would eventually Marry) at a Church function (My
prior Sunday's were spent in the gym). I also enrolled in University.
Morever, I kept making gains. I would arrive at the gym and the others
were already well into their workout. I would leave and those same
dudes were still going at it. Yet I was the one making gains. Rather
than those gym rats exploring the Mentzer system they would scorn me.
Even after I beat them in a contest, they would tell me that I shouldn't
be allowed to compete because of, get this, "My bad attitude toward
training." I guess 45-minutes in the gym, once every three days is a
bad "Attitude," Six-days-a-week and two or more hours is a good attitude.
I soon realized that 12-weeks of preperation for one night of glory on a
stage in front of several hundred might not be as good a deal as
wrestling five-nights a week in front thousands. The time saved
with the Mentzer system allowed me to continue making gains (or at
least maintaining) while on a tight traveling schedule.
The crux of my testimony is this. Forget the science supporting which
systems - Heavy Duty vs. Multi-sets - garners the most gains. The
Mentzer Heavy Duty system works and it saves time. Lot's of time.
General Guidelines for Heavy Duty Training
1. Perform only one set to failure for each exercise.
2. Use a level of resistance that will allow for the performance of
between 8 and 12 repetitions.
3. Increase the resistance by approximately 5 percent whenever 12
repetitions can be performed in strict form.
4. Move slowly enough to maintain strict control over the movement
and to be able to reverse directly smoothly. Avoid fast, jerky
movements.
5. Use a full range of motion.
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by Gregory T. Glading
I am a former professional wrestler who can testify that the Mentzer,
Auther Jones heavy duty system works. It also works in a way that
the traditional multi-set system doesn't. The Mentzer system does bring
greater and more rapid strength gains. Nevertheless, that is not the
biggest benefit of Mr. Mentzer's system. The biggest benefit is saving
Time. I remember seriously getting into body building in the
Mid-Seventies. Body builders such as Arnold, Frank Zane, and Franco
Colombu were the tops in my mind and if I could only look like them,
fame, fortune, and chicks would be mine. Therefore, I threw myself into
training. I followed the workouts that Arnold and Franco would endorse
in the Weider magazines. Six-days a week, double split, three-hours a
day. On some days I would not leave the gym until 2:00 am.
Relationships? No time. Once I had that Arnold or Zane body, the
chicks would flock to me.
Here was my work-out life's critical moment. I ran into an acquaintance
from the previous Spring late that September. All he said was, "Hi, I
remember meeting you last April. Good to see you again." It dawned on
me that he didn't notice any change in my body. So now I realized it.
I sacrificed an entire summer in the gym and had nothing to show for it.
At first I scoffed at the Mentzer system and the idea of one set to
failure. I surely needed a change so sent-away for his course (Why not?
I did the same for the Arnold, Franco, Frank Zane, and Robbie Robinson
previously). A wonderful thing happened. I started making gains. An
even more wonderful thing happened. I started to have a life. I soon
developed other interests such as music, sports, and literature. I met
a girlfriend (Whom I would eventually Marry) at a Church function (My
prior Sunday's were spent in the gym). I also enrolled in University.
Morever, I kept making gains. I would arrive at the gym and the others
were already well into their workout. I would leave and those same
dudes were still going at it. Yet I was the one making gains. Rather
than those gym rats exploring the Mentzer system they would scorn me.
Even after I beat them in a contest, they would tell me that I shouldn't
be allowed to compete because of, get this, "My bad attitude toward
training." I guess 45-minutes in the gym, once every three days is a
bad "Attitude," Six-days-a-week and two or more hours is a good attitude.
I soon realized that 12-weeks of preperation for one night of glory on a
stage in front of several hundred might not be as good a deal as
wrestling five-nights a week in front thousands. The time saved
with the Mentzer system allowed me to continue making gains (or at
least maintaining) while on a tight traveling schedule.
The crux of my testimony is this. Forget the science supporting which
systems - Heavy Duty vs. Multi-sets - garners the most gains. The
Mentzer Heavy Duty system works and it saves time. Lot's of time.
General Guidelines for Heavy Duty Training
1. Perform only one set to failure for each exercise.
2. Use a level of resistance that will allow for the performance of
between 8 and 12 repetitions.
3. Increase the resistance by approximately 5 percent whenever 12
repetitions can be performed in strict form.
4. Move slowly enough to maintain strict control over the movement
and to be able to reverse directly smoothly. Avoid fast, jerky
movements.
5. Use a full range of motion.
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Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Easy Fat Loss Tips
1. Walking
Numerous studies prove that walking will lead to fat loss. The key
to success when walking for fat loss is consistency, not intensity.
To achieve fat loss all you need to do is walk at a comfortable
pace for 30 minutes a day. Walking is a great exercise and is a great
addition to any fat loss program. Walking is not only one of the
best ways to lose fat, it will also improve your overall health
and help to reduce stress and fatigue.
2. Drinking Water
I know you have heard it a million times before but here goes again,
drink 8 glasses of water a day. As repetitive as that is, water really
has magical properties. Drinking water will help you lose fat and
then maintain your fat loss. Water is irreplaceable. It is a natural
appetite suppressant and fat burner. Water helps keeping your stomach
feeling full and helps the body metabolize stored fat. Water is also
the best treatment for fluid retention. So in other words, drink water
to lose fat.
3. Setting Goals
When starting a fat loss program, it is important to set goals.
The best way to stay motivated is to break up your final goal weight
into smaller goals. For example if you want to lose 20 lbs, set 4
5 lbs weight loss goals. By setting smaller goals, your real
objectives will seem more achievable and you will also benefit
from a real sense of accomplishment every time you reach your
smaller goal weight.
4. Be Prepared
Never leave meals up to chance. Keep your kitchen stocked with healthy
snacks. You also always want to take some food with you when you go out,
so if you get hungry you won't be tempted to cheat. Always being
prepared will help you avoid set backs.
5. Rebound to Success
Following a fat loss program isn't easy and sometimes we get off
track. The key to success is not to let a moment of weakness turn
into a week of overeating. If you stray, don't be too hard on
yourself. Instead get right back on track and rebound quickly.
Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, Shape Up. Sign up for our Free Weekly Bodybuilding, Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter,and you will be automatically entered in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes. Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
Click Here To Sign Up Free
1. Walking
Numerous studies prove that walking will lead to fat loss. The key
to success when walking for fat loss is consistency, not intensity.
To achieve fat loss all you need to do is walk at a comfortable
pace for 30 minutes a day. Walking is a great exercise and is a great
addition to any fat loss program. Walking is not only one of the
best ways to lose fat, it will also improve your overall health
and help to reduce stress and fatigue.
2. Drinking Water
I know you have heard it a million times before but here goes again,
drink 8 glasses of water a day. As repetitive as that is, water really
has magical properties. Drinking water will help you lose fat and
then maintain your fat loss. Water is irreplaceable. It is a natural
appetite suppressant and fat burner. Water helps keeping your stomach
feeling full and helps the body metabolize stored fat. Water is also
the best treatment for fluid retention. So in other words, drink water
to lose fat.
3. Setting Goals
When starting a fat loss program, it is important to set goals.
The best way to stay motivated is to break up your final goal weight
into smaller goals. For example if you want to lose 20 lbs, set 4
5 lbs weight loss goals. By setting smaller goals, your real
objectives will seem more achievable and you will also benefit
from a real sense of accomplishment every time you reach your
smaller goal weight.
4. Be Prepared
Never leave meals up to chance. Keep your kitchen stocked with healthy
snacks. You also always want to take some food with you when you go out,
so if you get hungry you won't be tempted to cheat. Always being
prepared will help you avoid set backs.
5. Rebound to Success
Following a fat loss program isn't easy and sometimes we get off
track. The key to success is not to let a moment of weakness turn
into a week of overeating. If you stray, don't be too hard on
yourself. Instead get right back on track and rebound quickly.
Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, Shape Up. Sign up for our Free Weekly Bodybuilding, Fitness and Health Tips Newsletter,and you will be automatically entered in our monthly drawing to win Free Supplements and other great prizes. Stay informed, stay motivated, win free stuff, join today!
Click Here To Sign Up Free
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