Working Out is More Than Just a Physical Improvement
workout talk, time management
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A lot of people don't workout because they don't have enough time. More specifically, they don't have enough time to dedicate toward just improving their body. They have more important things going on, like a career, kids, friends, etc.
Well I can understand someone not having time to dedicate strictly to looking better, but what about the other benefits of working out? Exercising improves mental health, aids habitual sleeping patterns, and usually involves going to a gym - which is a pretty social place.
Working out can easily be mixed with any other priority. Have a bunch of kids and they run around like crazy driving you nuts? Play a game of tag, or Four Square, or whatever the devil these kids are playing nowadays. You'll probably have trouble keeping up with the tikes.
Too focused on your career to find time to workout? Well that's just stupid. I went for a job interview the other day and spent most of the talking with the guy about lifting, dieting, and which supplements work best. At the end of the day, we were friends and he recommended me for the job. Remember when people told you that learning golf would be good for business? Hitting the gym will help too. Gym talk is a great conversation piece, and you'll find more people who go to the gym than hit the golf course.
Going to the gym can help your social life as well. Instead of huddling around the computer poking people on facebook (pointless activity), get up and go to the gym. You'll be surrounded by people, which opens up opportunities to meet new people. Bring a friend along as a lifting buddy and working out can be a social event. Better yet, mix the two... Meet someone at the gym (the hot girl if you're lucky) and turn them into a workout partner.
So basically, if you think that you don't have time for exercise because of many other important parts of life, you just haven't thought about the positive impact working out can have on tho... read entire entry
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on 2/21/2008
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8.3
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I hate Lifting Legs
workout talk
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I know, I know, legs are one of the most important muscles and you can't skip them... But I still hate doing them. And not just because it doesn't give you a good pump and inflate your upper muscles, but mainly because I can't stand being sore for a week after every time I do some squats.
After taking a break from lifting, primarily to work on this site, I finally started aggressively hitting the gym again (about 3 weeks ago). In my beginning phases of getting back in shape, I always skip legs the first few weeks because I just I know that the second I do a serious leg workout, I'm going to be walking around like an old man for the next week.
Finally, a few days ago, I manned up and did a squat routine, followed by leg press. I did an intense ab workout that day as well (abs are my specialty). Walking out of the gym, I was nearly falling down the stairs because my legs and abdomen were so drained. By the end of the night, I could already feel the soreness setting in. Considering my soreness doesn't reach it's peak until about 2 days later, I knew I was in for a rough set of days.
It's not just walking funny for a few days that's bothering me. I can't get a good workout in the gym when my legs are so sore. For instance, I like to use dumbbells as the core tool for my chest workout, and I find myself struggling to get proper dumbbell press position when throwing the weights back and lying on the bench. I found it much harder to stabilize myself, and since I didn't have a spotter, I held back on upping my weight. So in my opinion, that was a wasted workout.
Leg fanatics stress the importance of legs, and I'm well aware or their importance, so don't think that I'm saying legs aren't important. But you have to agree that legs are very very annoying to get back in shape. Anyways, I'm going to waddle off to the gym now to do traps and lats.
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on 2/14/2008
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33.2
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Triceps are so Under rated, Use them to Overcome Plateaus
workout talk, plateaus
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I realized how important the triceps are my freshman year of college when I was doing a chest workout and realized that I could do flies with almost the same amount of weight that I could dumbbell press. I never took lifting very serious until college, so overall I wasn't very strong. But my chest was just naturally better equipped than my triceps. While my chest was strong enough to fly a set of 50s pound dumbbells, I could only press a set of 60 lbs dumbbells. I know, I know... I was pretty weak back then.
But the point is, that my chest would have easily been able to handle more weight, but my triceps simply weren't strong enough. Therefore, I had to do extra sets of flys in order to adequately work my chest. Now, although it was obvious in my scenario, I think there are many other people out there in the same situation, but to a different degree. I see lots of guys struggling with their bench press, when their chest seems to be doing fine with handling the weight. Mentally, they think, "I gotta work harder on Chest days." In my opinion, they should do the opposite.
My advice:
Switch up your chest workout for one week and don't do any pushing or pressing. Do only flies and similar exercises. Do more sets than you usually do to make up for the exercises your missing out on. You'll notice that you perform your flies better than you usually do after tiring your muscles out from sets of benching. And we all know that everyone starts off their chest workout with benching... every time.
Not only will you be switching up your chest workout and working different exercises harder, you'll be resting your triceps. Now, when it is time to work your triceps, they will be fresh and ready to go, instead of being worn down from being used in your chest workout. Now you can really work your triceps, since it's important to build them up to improve your bench. Finally, take a few extra rest days in order to build up your chest a... read entire entry
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on 2/6/2008
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8
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