One-Rep Max Safe/Unsafe Opinions/Suggestions !!
muscles, fitness, one-rep, maximum, strength
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Determining proper resistance by straining to lift as much as you can in one rep is "decried as unsafe", but it can be done. You just need to exercise care. Start with a series of easier lifts to prepare muscles for maimum exertion. This tires out the muscles slightly to buffer against overexertion under the heavy loads while warming them up to prevent an injury.
First do ten warm-up lifts using a light weightload that's about 1/3 of your body weight. Rest 2 minutes.
Second do five lifts with a load of 1/2 of your body weight. Rest 2 minutes.
Third do one lift with a load of approx. 3/4 of your body weight. Rest 2 minutes.
Continue doing single lifts with 2 minute rests in between, adding 15-20% weight until you find the maximum load you can lift
once.
Again this can be done but using extreme caution and a spotter !!
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on 11/11/2008
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8.8
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Dumbbell Pullovers !!
muscles, weights, fitness, chest, pecs
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Lie flat on your back on a flat bench. Begin by holding the dumbbell above your chest with your elbows slightly bent. Slowly lower the dumbbell back so as to stretch your arms and the dumbbell back behind your head as far as you can reach. Your arms and the dumbbell will actually go behind/above your head and will drop down below the bench - this will really give you a great stretch. Return the dumbbell to the start position slowly, focusing on keeping your elbows locked in the bent position. This is an exercise you do not need to use maximum weight. Great chest expansion of the rib gage, Pectoralis Major muscles and Serratus Anterior muscles !! If you only do the standard flat bench press you will "love" this exercise.
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on 10/24/2008
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4.8
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BENEFITS of WEIGHT LIFTING !!
health, fitness, muscles, self-esteem, strength
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By lifting weights and gradually increasing the resistance on a consistent basis the benefits are as follows :
1. Weight lifting will give you more energy.
2. Weight lifting will improve your concentration and focus.
3. Weight lifting will help you sleep like a baby.
4. Weight lifting will increase your mental toughness.
5. Weight lifting will increase your muscle mass.
6. Weight lifting will decrease your body fat.
7. Weight lifting will increase your strength and endurance.
8. Weight lifting will prevent and rehabilitate injuries.
9. Weight lifting will take away the blues with the increase in endorphins.
Feel free to add any benefits not mentioned.
Psychological and emotional benefits everyone needs at almost all ages !!
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on 9/22/2008
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7.5
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FOCUS ON RESULTS !!
lifestyle, health, muscles, fitness, exercise
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The first thing you need to ask yourself is " what are my goals "? Lose weight, tone muscles, gain muscle mass, gain strength, more energy, more stamina, etc. Lack of results could be caused by any number of factors : your diet, your exercise program or unrealistic goals. The key is to figure out if you lack of results because you need to change what you are doing or change how you are thinking.
How can you change your diet to the better? Are the exercises appropriate for your training goals? Is your intensity at the max? How many reps, sets and how much weight are you using? Are you balancing cardio, nutrition, recovery and sufficent time? How can I change my routine? Have I reached a training plateau?
Remember, it took time for you to put on the weight, and it will take time to lose it. It takes time for even the most genetic blessed person to build muscles, gain strength, etc. Its a lifestyle, habit and work. Just stick to it and results will be there !!
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on 9/10/2008
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5.4
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WHATS YOUR BEST REP SCHEME ??
muscles, strength, exercise, weights, repetitions
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I have always gotten good training results working with eight to twelve reps on most exercises. Most people experience the same satisfactory results with eight to twelve reps. However, at the same time, I have known people who respond best to four to six reps; and a few others who required fifteen to twenty reps.
Try eight to twelve reps on all your exercises for at least four weeks. If you are progressing in your strength then don't change a thing. On the other hand, if you are not, then you may require either higher or lower reps than eight to twelve. Adjust the weight accordingly.
Determining your best repetition scheme will " benefit" you and your lifestyle !!
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on 9/3/2008
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6.6
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INTENSIFY (EMPHASIZE) YOUR WEAK AREAS !!
muscles, fitness, intensity, weights, weak areas
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Establish your weak areas with the help of an unbiased friend or on your own if you can be critical enough. Once you establish them, get right to work on them. Sometimes such an emphasis means training the lagging body part first while you are fresh - or attacking it with a special double pre-exhaustion cycle for two to four weeks - or perhaps some drop/stripping sets.
Remember, however, that emphasizing a weak area does not mean that you do more exercise for that specific body part. It means that you perform harder (intensity) exercise for it.
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on 9/3/2008
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5.2
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Eating Before Beditme !! ??
health, fitness, muscles, nutrition, sleep
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Eat no later than 2-3 hours before going to bed - especially carbs, late at night increases you fat stores. Eating high-glycemic carbs (pasta, potatoes, white rice, sugar, etc.) right before bed will spike your insulin levels and blunt nighttime HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE (HGH) production. Thats very bad because about 80% of this fat-burning, muscle building SUPER HORMONE is released during sleep. If you fast for 11 hours (8pm to 7am for instance) your body will begin burning fat around the 5th hour and continue until you wake up. If you're currently strength training to build muscle, a great end of the day meal is low fat cottage cheese (full of slowly digested (casien protein) with no sugar added fresh or canned fruit.
What and when you eat at the end of the day can have a large impact on your weight. If you eat the right thing at the right time you can actually lose weight while you sleep. Eat the wrong thing at the wrong time and you can plan on waking up with a little more body fat in the morning.
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on 8/7/2008
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11.8
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Cable Crossover Chest Exercise !!
chest, pecs, flys, muscles, crossovers
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For strength and pectoral definition try Cable Crossovers. Stand between two high cable pulley attachments. Grasp a pulley in each hand, bend slightly forward keeping your elbows slightly bent but locked and perform a fly movement by bringing your hands from out at your sides to directly in front of you. Repeat. This "hugging" motion will hit muscles you are not hitting on the bench press and dumble presses. Start with a light weight and work up accordingly. You can also at the peak of this movement flex or squeeze your pec muscles together for a one-count for an added "BONUS". Your "good soreness" will be rewarded. Enjoy !!
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on 8/4/2008
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11.1
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BEST BACK EXERCISE .... !!!!
muscles, fitness, health, weights, exercise
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The most advanced variation of chin-ups is the WIDE GRIP CHINS !! Many have called this the single best LAT EXERCISE ever invented. During the chin up, the lats, teres major, rear delt and traps contract to bring the arms down (or body up). The biceps contract to bend the elbow. The Lats are the largest muscles of the upper body and the most powerful movers of the shoulder joint.
Reach up and grab the bar with a firm overhand grip. Your hands should be roughly twice your shoulder width apart. This helps work more of your Lats, rather than your biceps. Straighten your arms and let your body hang from the bar. You can keep your legs straight or bend your knees and cross your feet. Slowly pull your body up to the bar so that the top of your chest nearly touches the bar and your chin is over the bar. Once your Lats have completely contracted at the top, slowly lower your body to the starting position. A spotter can lift your legs slightly if you need help.
Wide grip chin pullups will not only build impressive width and thickness to your back but will also pack solid inches on your arms by promoting growth on your biceps. Substituting Lat pulldowns instead of Wide Grip Chin Pullups will not get the same results. These two types of exercise require completely different recruitment patterns although the exercises may look similar visually. The fact that is clear, a GREAT BACK IS BUILT MUCH FASTER THROUGH WIDE GRIP CHINS THAN THROUGH PULLDOWNS !!
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on 7/28/2008
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12.7
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PROPER TECHNIQUE !!
muscles, fitness, strength, weights, health
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Good form is the BEDROCK of training success ! Without it, your program is doomed to failure because sooner or later you will injure yourself. What is good form ? Well, it's not what you see in most gyms. I see people bench pressing half way down or doing curls half way down wasting their time. Because I can't be with you to check your form or determine (I'm joking, although many have called me their coach) whether whoever advises you knows what he or she is talking about, I can only recommend that you purchase several books and of course read "fitconnect.com".
Follow good advice and use proper form so that you can look forward to years of injury-free, successful body workouts !!
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on 6/17/2008
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7.5
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RESTING METABOLIC RATE !!
health, fitness, muscles, weight, ideas
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Your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the amount of calories that your body burns at rest (such as sitting on the couch all day and doing nothing else) to perform basic functions such as breathing, circulation of blood, maintaining body temperature and represents how many calories your body requires to survive and keep you alive at your current weight.
Your RMR can represent anywhere from 2/3rds to 3/4ths of your total caloric expenditure for the day. The more your actual body weight, the higher your RMR. Muscle mass also burns more calories at rest than fat, so building muscle can increase your RMR. Men have a higher RMR than a woman of the same body weight because they men have more muscle mass. Genetics can also affect your RMR.
A small number of calories are burned when your body digests and absorbs food you consume. This number can vary with the type of meal or snack that you consume and is referred to as the THERMIC EFFECT OF FOOD (TEF). While you can increase your daily activity in a variety of ways, TEF is what is is. Of course your daily training or exercise expenditure is the most variable component of the amount of calories that you burn in a day, ranging from several hundred to even serveral thousand calories depending on the duration and intensity of your training.
There are tests to give you an idea of how many calories you need to eat everyday regarding your RMR.
They recommend three suggestions before testing:
4 hour fast
No caffeine prior to test
No exercise prior to test
Knowing your resting metabolic rate RMR is helpful in many ways !! Enjoy !!
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on 6/12/2008
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7.9
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MASS versus STRENGTH !!
mass, strength, fitness, muscles
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The training methods for strength and muscle mass are similar in that they must both include resistance work at an elevated intensity level. Strength fibers Fg ( fast, glycolytic) require a significant higher intensity. Mass fibers Fog (fast, oxidative, glycolytic) have the ability to utilze oxigen at a more efficient rate, thereby enabling it to contract quickly and be somewhat fatique resistant. It also has the greatest capacity for size increases.
It's actually the time the muscle spends in maximal exercise that's the true determinant of the primary fiber type. For optimal strength development the exercise should be around 90 % anaerobic, or no more than a total of 15 seconds of actual performance time during any work set. For muscle mass, the optimal energy production is 66 to 85 %, or between 30 and 60+ seconds of performance time.
If your interested in muscle mass, your focus should be total tension time - at a maximal paced intensity - rather than counting reps. Again each set should last 30-60+ seconds.
If your interested in strength you should concentrate on quick, explosive sets with a short rest/pause between reps.
FOCUS ON RESULTS !!
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on 5/30/2008
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8.7
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Stress Causing Catabolism !! Stay Healthy !!
stress, health, ideas, muscles
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In our current high-stress culture, the bodies stress response is activated often. Stress episodes causes your body to pump immense amounts of CORTISOL into your bloodstream, which helps your system break down tissue, including muscle, for immediate energy. Any stress can cause it, from high-intensity workouts to not eating to relationship problems to deadlines at work to final exams.
Coritsol is an important hormone in the body, secreted by the adrenal glands and involved in the following functions: proper glucose metabolism, regulation of blood sugar, insulin release for blood sugar maintanence, immune function and inflammatory response. Cortisol prevents natural growth hormones from acting anabolically, so it's said to be catabolic. While cortisol is an important and helpful part of the bodies response to stress, it's important that the body's relaxation response be activated so the body's functions can return to normal following a stressful event. Higher and more prolonged levels of cortisol in the bloodstream have negative effects, such as: decreased muscle tissue, decreased bone density, impaired cognitive performance, suppressed thyroid function, blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemia, lower immunity and increased abdominal fat.
Learn to relax your body with various stress management techniques and make lifestyle changes in order to keep your body from reacting to stress in the first place. STAY HEALTHY - CONTOL YOUR STRESS !!
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on 5/16/2008
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7.1
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Are You Overtraining ?? Symptoms Plus ....
health, fitness, strength, muscles
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Are you training beyond your body's ability to repair itself? This can be caused by training the same body parts too frequently so that the body does not have time to RECOVER before the next workout. A classic sign of overtraining is that you are training as hard as ever, but your performance in the gym is consistently getting worse, rather than better. Overtraining can best be defined as the state where your normal rest is no longer adequate to allow for recovery.
Typical signs include:
Loss or decrease in appetite
Insomnia
Fatigue
Headaches
Susceptiblity to colds and flu
Decrease in performance
Achiness or pain in the muscles and/or joints
Inability to complete workouts
Increased apathy and irritability
Mood and sleep disturbances
Depression / Anxiety
An exact diagnostic criteria for overtraining does not exist so one must rely on this signs and symptoms as a tool to consult a trainer or Doctor. I suggest completely stop training every 8-10 weeks for 1 week and just allow your body to recover and your joints to heal.
Your body needs energy and rest to RECOVER. Listen to your body !!
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on 4/23/2008
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10.2
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Importance of Pausing in the Contracted Position !!
fitness, weights, muscles, mass, strength
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It is very important to contract the muscle fully during the positive or raising portion of an exercise. Whenever a particular muscle group is contracted, the opposite muscle group is stretched. The primary advantage of performing each rep to the point of complete muscle contraction is enhanced stimulas for muscle growth. A pause in the fully shortened position provides a brief static contraction. Due to the mechanics of muscle contraction this provides a highly effective stimulas for muscle growth.
Some examples of Static Contraction are as follows:
Double shrugs / holding at the top for 3-4 seconds
Bottom position start bench press / pressing the bar off the rack and holding it for 3-4 seconds without locking out
Upright rows / hold at the top for 3-4 seconds
Seated barbell curls / curl the bar to the midpoint position and hold it for 3-4 seconds
Try it !! Very effective !! Adjust the weight to your liking, but try to keep the 3-4 seconds consistant.
Enjoy the burn - its good for you !!
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on 4/19/2008
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15.4
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Importance of Training to Momentary Muscular Failure !!
strength, mass, muscles, weights
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Momentary muscular failure is when you are exerting maximum effort against a resistance, which at that point in the set is not moving. Despite your exertion, you can no longer move the weight up. This should be included in all bodybuilding programs. Maximum efforts should be made against an unmoving resistance; but only after the maximum number of full reps have been performed, when your muscles are so exhausted from the immediate preceding reps that they are momentarily incapable of moving the resistance in spite of a 100% effort.
You will not build muscular size and strength by performing that which you are already capable of easily doing. You must constantly attempt the momentarily impossible, and such attempts should involve max efforts.
Before a muscle is capable of anything approaching a max effort, it must be properly warmed up by the performance of several moderately easy reps. If not, the muscle will fail at a point below its actual strength level. This increases your blood flow and prepares your muscles for the activity ahead.
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on 4/10/2008
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9.2
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Benefits of a " Workout Partner" !!
strength, health, muscles, weights
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Having a workout partner is important not only for safety reasons but also for performance ENHANCEMENT. A workout partner / spotter who DEMANDS proper TECHNIQUE and full effort on every exercise set and rep. An effective workout partner / spotter gives encouragement, feedback, and just enough assistance to permit completion of that final difficult rep. You should try to go to full muscle fatigue with the last rep being a challenge. There is always the chance that when you try for a final rep you can't finish it on your own. This is where your workout partner comes in and helps you barely finish that last rep and assuring you of your safety.
I suggest trying to find someone with similar goals and interests to work out with you. This will assure safety, help motivate, give feedback , encouragement and proper form. It may also help you make it to the gym more often - which is always a good thing !!
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on 4/7/2008
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12.1
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KEEP A TRAINING DIARY !!!!
fitness, weights, muscles, strentgh, record
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A good training diary will help you determine what your doing right, what your doing wrong and what you should change. Include exercises, sets, reps, weights and the length of each workout. If you are sore from the previous days workout make note of it. Which muscles are sore chest, triceps, etc? How sore? How many days latter? Make a note when you set new highs in weights or reps. Did you try something new and if so is it worth repeating? Also, make note of your walking, jogging, biking, tennis, racquetball, swimming - whatever.
It is also an excellent idea to write down your goals and how you plan to achieve them. Your training diary will help you with a record for future guidance and a few laughs years from now. I can look back 20 plus years in my training diaries and change my routine or just have a few laughs !!!!
JUST DO IT !! YOU WON'T REGRET IT !!
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on 3/27/2008
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17.6
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ESSENTIAL RECOVERY TIME PLUS ....
muscles, strength, weights, mass, fitness
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The two main components of strength training are the intensity of the exercise and the recovery after the exercise. High intensity weight training sessions, followed by the required amount of time to recover and become stronger is what is needed to increase muscle size and strength. Your rest days are just as important as your training days. By giving your muscles more time to recover between training sessions you will on the road to major gains.
If you are sore, it is in fact a sign that your muscles are in a repair state. Pain is your body's signal to you that something is wrong. Do not train on sore muscles !! Instead, wait until you have one full day or no soreness before training the same muscles again. PAY | |