Gym 2012

what does gym training do to the bodies muscles and recovery?

2012-01-27T19:45:00.000-08:00

What does your gym training sessions do to the bodies muscles and recovery rate?, it is the gym training what sets the bodies muscle growth into play. and any beginner to the gym will typically see very quick progress using very light weights because even light weights are a stress to a beginners body when at the gym.

And it is this stress you create when working out at the gym, that causes your muscles to grow and become bigger and stronger.

Though once your body becomes use to the stress you put on it while training, it adapts, and muscle growth slightly grinds to a halt. so what do you do?, well, ln order to re-introduce that stress that causes muscle growth and change, you will need a slightly heavier weight, which must be used to act as a new successful muscle stimulus.

Though beginners can often make the mistake of adding more reps or more exercises without first attempting to increase the weight they are using on the exercises they are already doing.

the problem is that adding more exercises will only drain energy and recovery levels so adding more weight (which is the way to go) as a means of increasing the stress on the original exercise becomes nearly impossible.

After mastering the right training form in the gym, the beginner should strive to use heavier weights on the exercises they are already using before even thinking about adding new additional exercises.

The General Adaptation Syndrome is one way of describing this process. This theory states that any stress can have a profound effect on the body. A stressor is something that can upset the body’s homeostasis; its day to day balance. like training {stress}. Three reactions occur with any severe stress. They are the alarm stage, resistance development stage, and exhaustion stage.

The Alarm Stage is the initial response to the stress. The novice gym trainers stress is the weights he or she uses. This stress will manifest in symptoms of being tired, extreme muscle soreness, and initially a little increase in strength.

In the Resistance Stage (also known as the rebuilding stage) the body adapts to the stress. The signs such as extreme muscle soreness, or lethargy become dramatically less severe as the body attempts to recover and adapt to the stress.

It is during this time that muscles adapt to the work placed upon them and your body begins to grow. Here is where you must be smart and progress at your own pace in order to be successful in your gym training especially in the long run.

how many reps should you use when weight training?

2012-01-27T19:33:00.000-08:00

How many reps should you use when weight training?, 5 Reps Or 12 Reps?, if the range is 5 to 12 reps. As long as your reps on each set fall somewhere between this number of around 5 and 12, you should be stimulating plenty of muscle growth this way.

though if you can perform more than 12 reps on a set, the weight you are using for that set is probably too light, so you will find that you have to increase the weight a small amount.

Though on the other hand, if you pick a weight and fail to complete say 5 reps, that weight is probably going to be too heavy requiring the removal of some weight so you can achieve at least 5 to 6 reps at the very least.

You need to Pick a weight where you are able to perform around at least 5 to 6 reps but not more than 12 repetitions. you need to strive to continually push harder as well so that you add more weights in the future as well when working out and training, and then the muscle mass will start to come.

Many of the best bodybuilders in the world are some of the most strongest people on this planet. Stress and Growth is the key to building up your bodies muscle mass, Stress is the weight used and is one of the main stimulus for your bodies muscle growth. and this is what sets your bodies muscle growth into action, you need to focus on getting good stress into the muscles as well.

Try for a quality movement that works the bodies muscles well, without undue ache or strain look to achieve a good fluid motion with a weight that taxies your body in the right rep and set ranges for optimal growth.

what are good gym training goals to achieve to look good and make most out of workout time?

2012-01-27T19:11:00.001-08:00

What are some good gym training goals to achieve to look good and make most out of your workout time?.

A good goal to follow would be to add 5 lbs. to each exercise you do each week. this is for the bigger exercises like the bench presses, squats, deadlifts, leg presses, etc.

Some exercises like isolation type exercises, this goal would not apply, things like side laterals for shoulders, dumbell flys, curls etc, would not be applicable.

And it is not something you will be able to do every week, just something to try and achieve on the big exercises, adding a small amount now and again, when you add this weight make sure you can do the previous amount of sets and reps easily, then you know you are ready to add the 5 lbs extra.

You might get less reps as a result, but work at that extra weight until you are back up to your previous rep range, before trying to add another new amount of weight, like i said sometimes you will find it easier then others, so make sure to fist master the previous weight sets and reps wise, before going up another level.

this will be more easy to do for big exercises, but for smaller exercises like bicep curls and tricep push downs you may not always be able to make those 5 lb. jumps in weight, so do not worry and just work it more for the big exercises like squats, deadlifts etc.

you will find there is a big difference between adding 5 lbs. to a 250 lb. deadlift then to adding 5 lbs. to a 25 lb. bicep curl. So you just need to keep that in your mind and also do your best to increase your strength whenever possible when at the gym, but only when you have got over the previous hurdle weight wise satisfactory.

optimum nutrition 100 gold standard whey protein powder review

2012-01-24T15:46:00.000-08:00

If you are stuck choosing a good source of Protein, Optimum Nutrition 100 gold standard whey protein powder is definitely one of the best out there, when it comes to affordability and quality.

Here is a bit of review about probably the most popular Bodybuilding Protein on the Supplements market at the moment, and for quite a few years to be specific.

100% Whey Protein Information

Whey protein is the highest in all measures of protein quaility. The extremely popular protein is produced with domestic Grade A Milk and is low temperature processed to preserve the biologically active microfractions. It is also concentrated, ultrafiltered and isolated using ion exchange and crossflow microfiltration to eliminate nearly all of the cholesterol and lactose making it perfect for low-fat and low carbohydrate diets.

Optimum Nutrition offers a very high quality whey protein at an affordable price. Customers consistently rank Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein as one of the best values on the market.

This is is a powerful pharmaceutical grade protein supplement. Each serving delivers 22 grams of high biologically valued protein and just 2 grams of fat.

This product contains absolutely no added carbohydrates. Each serving has just 1.5 grams of carbohydrates, making it an excellent choice for those on low carbohydrate diets.

100% Whey Protein is manufactured from non-denatured, specially filtered Whey Protein Concentrate, Ion Exchange Whey Protein Isolate, and Low Molecular Weight Whey Peptides. This mixture provides the highest biological value and absorbability while eliminating the lactose.

This product delivers you the perfect balance of Essential and Non-Essential Amino Acids including a high concentration of Branch Chain Amino Acids. This improves nitrogen retention and muscle growth.

This is an instantized formula that is easy to mix with a spoon, and tastes delicious mixed with either skim milk or water. For added protein, try mixing a scoop of protein with your oatmeal, yogurt, muffins, or pancake recipes.

What's in It?

Serving Size: 1 heaping scoop
Servings per Container: 80
Calories: 110 Calories from fat: 18
Total Fat: 2g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 50mg
Sodium: 60mg
Potassium: 230mg
Total Carbohydrate: 1.5g
Dietary Fiber: <1g
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 22g
Calcium: 17%
Iron: 2%

Ingredients:

QuadPlex Protein Blend (Ultrafiltered Whey Protein Concentrate, Cross Flow Microfiltration Whey Protein Isolate, Ion Exchange Whey Protein Isolate [All Three Sources Contain Concentrations of Lactoglobulin, alpha-Lactalbumen, Bovine Serum Albumen, Immunoglbulins, Glycomacropeptides, Lactoferrin, Lactoperoxidase, Glycomacropeptides, Lactoferrin, Lactoperoxidase, other closely related Protein Molecules and Glutamine Peptides], Low Molecular Weight and Partially Hydrolyzed Whey Peptides), Artificial Flavor, Acesulfame Potassium, FD and C Red #40.

Suggested use:

Mix 1 heaping scoop with 6 to 8 oz. of water or skim milk. Take 2 to 3 servings per day.

optimum nutrition 100% gold standard whey protein powder supplement review

how to make whey protein desert or slushie recipes bit like whey into food for better taste diet

2012-01-24T11:01:00.000-08:00

here is a nice recipe to make a kind of whey protein powder desert or slushie, and quite simple to do, if you are getting bored of just mixing your whey supplement in a shaker bottle everyday, give this one a try.

Mango-Pineapple Slushie

Makes 1 serving

½ cup fresh or frozen mango ½ cup pineapple, canned
in juice, drained ¼ cup pineapple juice (drained from canned pineapple) 1 scoop whey protein powder, unflavored or vanilla-flavorCrushed ice
Combine in a blender until smooth.

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING: 280 calories, 22 g protein (including 21 g whey protein), 45 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber,2.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 160 mg sodium

what is the hydrolysed whey protein powder supplement?

2012-01-24T09:30:00.000-08:00

When whey protein is hydrolyzed, the protein chains are broken down into smaller chains of amino acids called "peptides." Hydrolyzed whey protein is still a high-quality protein. It is most commonly used in infant formulas, medical protein supplements, and some sports drinks.

branched chain amino acids like leucine from whey protein

2012-01-24T09:25:00.000-08:00

Whey protein is a high-quality protein found naturally in dairy foods. As a complete protein, whey protein provides the aminoa cids you need to help maximize the benefits of your training program.

Whey protein is one of the best sources of theamino acid, leucine, which is a type of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA). Most amino acids are first metabolized in the liver and then the muscle tissue, but BCAAs, like leucine, bypass the liver so they can be metabolized directly by muscle tissue. These amino acids play a key role in promoting muscle growth.

Research has shown that leucine is uniqueand acts as a nutrient signal to “turn-on” or initiate protein synthesis in muscle. As a result, researchers have suggested that individuals who exercise regularly may benefit from diets higher in leucine to help speed the rebuilding of muscle after working out.

One way to do this is to include protein that is high in leucine, such as whey protein, in your daily diet.

what are foods are complete protein sources animal based foods!

2012-01-23T18:59:00.000-08:00

Many foods contain protein, but the amount and quality of this protein varies. High-quality protein sources include meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, and whey protein. These foods supply the complete range of essential amino acids the body needs to build and maintain muscle and to function properly.

For this reason, protein found in animal-based foods is referred to as “complete” protein.

Protein found in most plant foods, including legumes (beans and peas), seeds, nuts, vegetables, and grain products, acids some of the essential amino acids needed daily and is therefore considered an “incomplete” protein.

is protein supplementation recommended by experts?

2012-01-23T18:47:00.000-08:00

The Power of Protein, Including enough protein, like high-quality whey protein, in your diet may help you:

Get more out of your exercise routine by speeding the rebuilding of muscle after working out.

Improve the quality of your weight loss by helping maintain muscle and/or increase body fat loss, when following a healthy, reduced-calorie diet.

Experience greater satiety, or a feeling of fullness,which can help curb snacking and over-eating.

In a recently released joint position statement, “Nutritionand Athletic Performance,” the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the American Dietetic Association (ADA),and the Dietitians of Canada (DC) state that “physical activity, athletic performance, and recovery from exerciseare enhanced by optimal nutrition.”

Using the latest scientifc research, the position statement outlines specific nutrition recommendations, including daily protein intake, for optimal health and exercise performance. Experts agree that athletes and individuals who exercise regularly may benefit from higher protein intakes beyond the minimum requirements outlined by the Recommended Dietary Allowance(RDA).

make a shake?, whey protein powder

which is best soy protein powder or whey?

2012-01-23T18:44:00.000-08:00

How does whey protein compare to other protein sources, including soy protein?
Whey protein is a nutritionally complete protein that is rapidly digested and absorbed.

Compared to many other proteins, on a gram-to-gram basis, whey protein delivers more branched-chain amino acids, including leucine, which is important for muscular health and development.

I think as far as the Bodybuilder is concerned, Whey protein is probably his first choice, before a Soy protein powder.

how is the whey protein powder supplements made?

2012-01-23T18:41:00.000-08:00

This is a brief description below on how the whey protein powder supplement is made.

Whey is one of two major proteins found in cow’s milk. Whey protein is produced during the process of making cheese, which begins when special enzymes are added to milk causing it to separate. The curds are used to make cheese, leaving behind whey protein in the liquid portion. This liquid whey is then pasteurized and dried into a powder for various uses, like bodybuilding supplements you drink!.

what is the whey protein powder supplements good for

2012-01-23T18:39:00.000-08:00

what is the whey protein powder supplements good for?, Protein is an essential nutrient your body needs every day. The amino acids that make up protein are often referred to as the “building blocks of life” because they serve so many important functions in the body. Beyond its well-known role in building and repairing lean muscle, protein controls many metabolic processes in the body. Protein also helps repair body cells and it helps build and maintain bones.

looking for the right kind of gym to train in friendly!

2012-01-23T17:59:00.000-08:00

By the very nature of gym training activity, the beneﬁts of physical training are not very noticeable immediately, like instant body changes, they are achieved only after a lot of sweat, eﬀort,and sore muscles, and recovery to see the benefits of working out.

But there is a important spur to continued activity, though, it is the social aspect of membership in a ﬁtness club, meeting new people and creating bonds.

A club that can create strong feelings of belongings, a feeling of being somewhere with friends, and can also provide entertainment will retain your gym membership loyalty.

this is the kind of gym you should be looking for.

eating correctly for building muscle at the gym

2012-01-23T17:54:00.000-08:00

It is very important to eat correctly as well if you are training regulary, do not ignore the importance of what foods you eat, high quality muscle as well means lower body fat levels as well from time and effort you invest in training, you
must feed your muscles the correct ration of protein and carbs.

Your nutritional habits as well dictate how you will train in the gym, this has the greatest impact on the development of your physique, make sure to eat a more carb rich meal before training and a more carbs and protein meal after gym training.

Many feel the way you eat accounts for as much as 80percent of the way you look. If you wantan impressive muscular body, you are going to have to pay close attention to what you are eating.

And you need at least a basic understanding of foods and what they do to the human body when trying to make your training as easy as possible as well.

What is gold's gym of long beach california usa, most popular gym in the world?

2012-01-22T11:11:00.000-08:00

What is gold's gym of long beach california usa, most popular gym in the world?, everyone has probably heard of this gym, as i think it is possibly the most popular gym in the world.

famous as a mecca for the top bodybuilder's for lots of years now, and of course the beauty of the californian beach as well.

very nice setting, no wonder gym wise gold's is very famous, the likes of arnold also made this gym very popular and helped its world wide exposure.

some gold's gym pictures

gold's gym long beach california usa picture

female fitness model amy fadhli at the gold's gym

what is the Arnold Classic Weekend show all about?

2012-01-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

What is the Arnold Classic Weekend show all about? basically one of the most popular bodybuilding contests outside of the mr.olympia!.

There is no question that if you have not been to one of these Arnold Classic Weekend, you have not seen anything yet. This is where almost all of the bodybuilding and fitness competitors merge into a crazy weekend in which over 100,000 fans come to see the sights and be in the atmosphere.

It is wall to wall people in the expo, which the best possible deals from the largest sports nutrition manufacturers in the world. The bodybuilding and fitness shows themselves were sold out, and there were many surprises during this weekend. If you are a bodybuilding fan and can afford to travel or live near the arnold classic it would be a highlight for you to check it out, and see the stars in person!.

the standing cable curl machine for biceps detail and definition

2012-01-22T10:45:00.001-08:00

well here is a excellent exercise to try in the gym, the standing cable curl machine for biceps detail and definition, standing in the front of low cable bar like in the picture below, you curl the weight up in front of you.

this can put you in a better position in regards to this piece of training apparatus, if that way is not possible on your gym equipment then you can do the exercise facing the machine.

but the best way to do this exercise is to usually stand away from the cable attachment like in the picture below.

if you look at this picture of ronnie coleman below he is trianing his arms with this cable exercise

paul dillett freakiest gym body ever?

2012-01-22T10:26:00.000-08:00

well one of the freakiest gym bodies of all time i think has to go to the freakazoid called paul dillett, had one of those strange physiques, massive arms and shoulders, and not too short in height, so paul would stand out as one of the freakiest guys in most pictures you see of him!.

he's is a body built through gym lifts, like the bench press, barbell curl, shoulder press and pulldowns, paul dillett freaky body!.

some gym exercises inner and outer chest and back muscles

2012-01-22T10:12:00.000-08:00

Some Gym Exercises uses explained for Inner and Outer Chest and the Back muscles.

For Back the lateral pull down works your back muscles very well. Using the lateral pull down will tone up your back and give you definition in your back. Keep in mind, the lateral pull down also works your biceps a little.

For the Inner Chest Muscles use the Incline Press: Using the incline press machine will work the inside muscles of your chest. The result of this will be a firmer chest and also a bit of enhanced decollete.

For the Outer Chest Muscles use the Bench Press: Using the bench press will work the outside of your chest creating a toner look on the side of your body and of course, a
stronger chest. Your muscles also get pushed in a bit which will also enhance your decollete somewhat.

The Tricep Gym Exercise to try called Extensions

2012-01-22T10:09:00.000-08:00

The Tricep Gym Exercise to try called Extensions works very well over all of the back of the arm muscles.

Tricep extensions: There are several approaches to doing tricep extensions. I will talk about one I find pretty popular. Look for a machine that has a stack of plates at the bottom with a cable that goes up and around a pulley that is connected to a bar which is will usuaslly be an inverted "V" shape bar.

This exercise is done in a standing position with knees slightly bent and one front slightly in front of the other(about six inches). Start our with the lowest plate level so you can get used to the feel of the motion. Grab the bar with both hands and press it down as if you are using a jackhammer.

Keep your elbows as close to your sides as possible and keep the bar down for about 2 seconds. Then raise the weight up slowly because the weight will force you to go up fast. Stop raising the weight once your wrists past your elbows. Then repeat this motion for about 10 reps.

Effective Exercise for Biceps Exercise in the Gym

2012-01-22T10:06:00.000-08:00

Very Effective Exercise for Biceps Exercise in the Gym is the standing dumbell curl.

Bicep curls: Start out with an 8lb dumbbell(aka weight) for each arm. Stand with your feet slightly spread apart, you knees slightly bent, and a dumbbell in each hand.

Curl your left arm upwards towards your chest, keeping your left elbow locked in place, and your right arm stays down. Then keep your left arm down and culr your right arm upwards towards your chest, remembering to keep your right elbow locked in place and
close to your sides.

Alternate your arms and curl for about 20 reps which means 10 reps for each arm. This will tone up your bicep muscles for each arm. This will tone up your bicep muscles and
build some muscle mass.

The lateral pull down or the "back machine" exercise

2012-01-22T10:04:00.000-08:00

The lateral pull down, otherwise known as the "back machine", can be used for various back strengthening exerises. It usually is a stand alone machine, but some gyms have the lateral pull down as part of a set of machines. This machine is composed of a seat that is connected to a longer bar that has along handbar portruding from it.

The first thing to do is adjust hte knee pad level so that your knees fit snugly under the knee pad. To adjust the level, pull the knob on the side out with one while holding hte knee pad up with the other hand. Keep the knob pulled out and raise or lower the knee pad to your desired height.

Then let go and the knee pad should lock in place. Then adjust the plate level you want by pulling out the pin that should be inside one of hte plates already. You'll probably want to start off with plate level 2. Then reach for the handlebar with both arms outstretched to each side. You will want to your hands holding the bar near the end right before the hanldbar turns downard. (You'll undestand what I'm talking about once you see the handlebar!) Pull the handlebar down with your arms and sit on the chair. The goal is to use your back muscles to pull the handlebar each time after this.

So let the bar raise up, when your arms are almost ou;tretched, stop, and then pull down uhtil the handlebar passes your neck. Then repeat the motion again for about 10 reps.

The incline press is pretty much the same as the bench press

2012-01-22T10:03:00.000-08:00

The incline press is pretty much the same as the bench press--even comes in two forms--but you lie down at a different angle, an inclined angle so your back will rest on a bench that looks more like a chair. You follow the same steps as was described for the bench press. The incline press is a little bit more difficult though so you will probably be lifting less weight.

The bench Press Overview of a important Gym Exercise

2012-01-22T10:01:00.000-08:00

The bench Press Overview of a important Gym Exercise!. The bench press is one of the most fundamental machines in muscle strengthening. This machine may come in two forms. You may see it as part of an array of weight machines hooked up to cables and pulleys, or as a stand-alone bench with two vertical bars on each side, which support a bar that you can manually put weights on. The bench press is the machine that has the flat bench so you will be lying flat on your back. The use of these two types of bench presses are basically the same. I will refer to the first bench press as a "fixed" bench press, meaning that all the weights are already hooked up to the machine, and the second as the "traditional" bench press.

The basic movement for using a bench press is to lower the bar to the middle of your chest, and press it up. It sounds easy, but there are things you should keep in mind if you want to use the bench press correctly, thus effectively. First, you don't want to "bounce" the bar off your chest during the movement. For the most effective results, you should actually pause for a few seconds in the lowered position before pressing the bar back up. Secondly, it is important to keep your lower back on the bench with no arching; the last thing you want is an injured lower back. Also, your grip on the bar should be firm and your hands should be about 18 inches a part. When you first grab the bar, circle your hands right next to each other in the middle of the bar, then slide your hands apart at an equal distance until your hands are about 18 inches apart. As with all machines, you should exhale when you exert, so it would be upon pressing the bar upwards.

Both types of bench presses work in the same way, except that in the "fixed" bench press, you start in the lowered position, whereas you start in the upper position for the "traditional" bench press. The advantage of the "fixed" bench press is mainly safety. The bar rests in a position that is just above your chest, so dropping the bar won't hurt you. On the contrary, you should always work out with a friend to spot--be there to help you lift the bar just in case you can't--you when using the traditional bench press. Once you lower the bar, the only way you'll get to leave the machine is by pressing it back up.

As far as how much weight to do, I would suggest using the lightest weight possible. On the "traditional" bench press, the minimum is 45 pounds, which is the weight of the bar only. When you add weights, you must add the same amount to each side of the bar for balance. At first, add additional weights using the 2-1/2 pound weights on each side. This will increment the weight by 5 pounds. For the "fixed" machine, you set the weight by adjusting the pin that chooses how many plates you want to press up. Start off with one plate to get the feel of the machine, and increment to a comfortable weight where you'll be able to do a set of 10 easily.

During my weight training sessions yesterday I had the good fortune

2012-01-21T13:24:00.000-08:00

During my weight training sessions yesterday I had the good fortune to be able to work with a couple of pretty serious athletes. It never fails to amaze me how often we find several people come in over the course of a week with variations of the same challenge. I guess many health practitioners experience the same thing. Yesterday the subject that came up was how to go about putting 10-15 pds of pure muscle on a person headed for a power event. This same question could come up with someone who is recovering from a prolonged chronic illness or injury. Either way perhaps one of the biggest mistakes is to use a bodybuilding only program. we will explore some other training styles other then just the out and out bodybuilding style gym training in this blog.

the most effective exercises for changing the bodies shape in the quickest time possible

2012-01-19T07:27:00.000-08:00

the best exercises i find when working out, that seem to make the most improvement to how my body looks are some of the obvious ones as well, or the old time favourite exercises of lots of bodybuilders, but here is a list of these favourite exercises of mine, that i find give me the best results compared to some other exercises.

bench press, very good for overall upper body look and shape.

dumbell chest, same as above.

lat pulldowns on various grips, hits the whole upper back and gets that shape into the back muscles.

tricep pressdowns various angles, gets deep into the muscle and helps shape and bring out detail.

ez bar curls, dumbell curls, and dumbell hammer curls moderate weight used and go for pump and detail.

shoulder presses and side laterals to bring out the shoulder muscles and get that wide look.

of course i use more exercises then this, but i thought i would mention some of the good ones above, that find are very effective and useful.

the next thing though is to use a moderate weight and get the technique down on these exercises so you can get the most benefit from them, technique and control of the weight is important when working out, so you need to concentrate to learn how to do these movement in the best possible way and angles for your own body structure.

quick and easy weight training tricks at home

2012-01-19T07:20:00.000-08:00

well here is a easy trick i use to get in mini workouts and what i call physique maintenance, when i cannot get to the gym often, i also have some weights set up at home, for example you could just have a pair of moderate dumbells set up.

what you do is just do a few sets of curls here and there, shoulder presses, press ups, sit ups, and so on, not full workouts though, just a few exercises say before going to bed also gets rid of stress.

this mini workouts help maintain what you have been building in the gym, not necessarily build up more muscle, but help maintain the muscles you have already built, rather then say the muscles deflating or disappearing too much.

it is especially good on the arms as they can deflate if you do not touch them for a few weeks, but these little workouts can help stop that happening.

getting lazy with my training

2012-01-18T20:25:00.000-08:00

one thing i have been doing the last few weeks is getting a little bit lazy with my training or the frequency of workouts.

when i train i put enough effort in that is not the problem, my problem has been just going training enough in the first place, you can kind of get into a rut and not be as bothered to put the effort in to go and do some training.

sometimes you might miss a few workouts and think, well i will make it up, but then you find you start to develop a pattern of missing more and more workouts.

but as long as you recognize this then there really is not much of a problem, as once you get back to training you can recover lost ground quite quickly, fitness and physique wise, it is just a matter of making that initial ste and getting back into training to begin with.

funny gym stories about working out in public gymnasiums?

2012-01-18T20:01:00.000-08:00

does anyone have any funny gym stories they would like to share about working out in your local public gymnasium?, if you have any stories could you post them in the comments section at the bottom of this page, so we can all have a read of your funny training escapades?.

it is easy as well for you post any messages in the comments section of this website as well, all you need do is post your comments in the section at the bottom of the page, as well you do not need to register to this blog either to be able to use the messaging service, as you can post as a anonymous message as well if you like, so lets hear some of these funny gym stories?.

nos blast anyone ever tried this pre workout drink?

2012-01-18T17:27:00.000-08:00

i have actually, nos blast its called, i got some at reduced price years ago so thought why not?, and it actually worked and improved my workout, the down side was that it also gave me stomach ache the next day, so these pre workout drinks were not for me really.

a lot of people swear by them, but some people like my self found these nitric oxide style arginine drinks to not agree with there stomach.

if you have a sensitive stomach like me i would say not to bother with these kind of drinks, but if not then you might like them, just a bit too much for me on my sensitive tummy.

celeb big brother bodybuilding competitions by jodie marsh

2012-01-18T17:05:00.000-08:00

have you been watching the uk version of celebrity big brother?, quite funny as jodie marsh has been putting the housemates through bodybuilding tasks on the uk tv reality show.

jodie has been putting fake tan on the housemates like how you would for a bodybuilding contest.

all quite funny fake tan but in the way it is over used and they end up looking a funny colour, and way too dark coloured.

one of the challenges is for the contestants to see who can drink a glass of six raw eggs, for a high protein drink, now that is a bit much, might make them sick i think.

on whey protein powder sale

2012-01-16T10:58:00.000-08:00

this is the most popular out there in the world it seems at the moment, on whey protein powder, i will look if any is available on sale, the reason it is so popular is because of its quality and reputation, always gets good reviews,

here is a quick look over the internet about this brand, also i noticed some adverts selling on whey protein powder on sale as well.

943 Grams can be found in google shops starting at the cheapest £14.

Nutrisaver in the amazon web store has 2lb's at just £16.74

there the two cheapest i can see in google shops, and seems to be the best out of most of the other online shops as well at the moment.

this is a really good choice to go for if you are struggling what type or brand to buy, on really does have some great reviews behind it, the option is just choosing the flavour really.

on whey protein powder sale

mike matarazzo one of biggest bodybuilders gym muscle bodybuilding workout

2012-01-06T17:22:00.001-08:00

mike matarazzo one of biggest bodybuilders gym muscle, this is the kind of muscle that is built through the use of weights in the gym, not that your average gym trainer can get a body like this, but the equipment used is gym equipment to build muscle nonetheless.

in the picture below mike matarazzo is using the behind the neck press gym training equipment to build up his shoulders

these are some great bodybuilding pictures and gym training pictures to inspire your bodybuilding workouts at the gym

barbell curls is a old fashioned original bodybuilding exercise for bicep workouts for mass bodybuilding on the arms

to get the best gym physique you can get with your own individual bodybuilding genetics, not super genetics like top bodybuilders, takes lots of training, but more importantly smart training as well.

mike changs six pack shortcuts videos get abs abdominal muscles real or not? for women and men

2012-01-04T17:21:00.000-08:00

mike changs six pack shortcuts videos get abs abdominal muscles real or not?, i have been watching some of mike changs abdominal training videos on youtube and i wonder if they are worth doing or not.

mike chang is right that the abdominals are a difficult body part to train and build up to get into good shape for most people.

one problem is the abs are usually hidden behind a layer of fat for most of us, so even if you build them up a lot they can still be hidden behind this layer of fat.

second the six packs can be very difficult muscles for a lot of us to train and workout, i find abdominal training difficult and usually miss training them, if i miss training a body part in the gym it is usually the abdominals, as i find them one of the most difficult and boring muscle groups to train when working out.

so if there are and secrets or shortcuts to getting good abs then that would definitely be a plus.

the only secret or short cut i know to training up the 6 pack muscles in the waist is to not waist time by not training them and dodging training them with excuses, if i put the effort in to training abs like i do other muscle groups then they do grow, and my abdominal six pack starts to get more defined and toned.

you need to do about 4 abdominal exercises, like sit ups, crunches, leg raises, and crunches were you bring your elbows to your knees as a example of 4 exercises and do a good few sets for each exercises to muscle failure then you will start to see results if you do that a few times a week.

week in week out that is a key, the muscles then have to respond, if you put more effort into abs you have a good chance of building them up, the same kind of effort you put into sculpting and training biceps for example, put that into your abs training, these training techniques apply the same for women trying to build abs as well as men.

anyway check out mike chang's video below, he does get some good responses on some bodybuilding forums so maybe does have some useful advice in his system.

Mike Chang's Six Pack Shortcuts Official Channel Intro Video

these are the before and after pictures of mike chang via using his training system to get himself in shape and build his six pack abs mike chang

i think inspiration is also important when it comes to training and trying to improve your body and physique, because they mind plays a very important part in achieving your goals in life, so here are some inspirational pictures of abdominal muscles and six packs.

in some of the pictures down the page, there are also some pictures of female abs as well and male abs pictures, as i think ab training can also be something women take part in when working out in the gym, abdominal training is not something just men should do.

bruce lee also had some great abdominal muscles as well, bruce lee abs pictures

frank sepe workout video and pictures top 90's male fitness star

2012-01-04T17:01:00.000-08:00

here are some frank sepe workout videos and pictures frank was a top 90's male fitness star, if you read bodybuilding magazines back in the 1990's you will have seen frank sepe on the cover of all the top magazines.

had a great physique, not overly muscled like bodybuilders can be at times, still not the kind of physique attainable for us regular gym trainers, but a good physique to try and emulate or copy to get the best kind of shape and look to your body, and i still believe getting in the best shape you can with this kind of look attracts a lot of women, if you watch the video below women are swarming around frank sepe in the video, which is proof women do like guys who work out and are in good shape, even if women say they do not like the bodybuilder look, i am sure some women are impressed by the bodybuilder/fitness body style look.

like i say for a example that getting in shape is not detrimental to impressing women watch the video below, women are stepping over themselves to get to frank.

Bodybuilder and Fitness Model Frank Sepe takes on Venice Beach

the amazing spider man movie 2012 andrew garfield training to get in shape and bodybuilding?

2012-01-02T16:33:00.000-08:00

andrew garfield who is going to play spiderman in the new movie in 2012 called "the amazing spider man" looks to have been in the gym and working out to get in shape for his part as the new spiderman in 2012.

if you remember back to the previous spiderman series of movies with tobey maguire he also did the same before playing his spiderman role, he had to beef up his physique to play the part of the spider man, due to all the skills of spiderman they needed a actor with a good physique.

so what did andrew garfield do to get in shape for the amazing spiderman movie which is released in 2012, here is the trailer first for the film released july 3rd 2012.

the amazing spider man movie 2012 trailer (Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin Sheen, Sally Field)

now to try and find out what andrew garfield did to get in shape, as reading about other peoples training exploits can help find oneself new tricks and techniques to use in the gym.

andrew garfield said he needed to look strong and have strength to play the part of the amazing spider man, and had people helping him achieve this look, so that would mean andrew garfield used personal trainers when getting in shape for the amazing spider man movie, and also will of meant the use of dieticians as well.

the information i can find so far is that andrew said that he wanted to feel like spiderman as a result of his training, having strength and flexibility.

this would take a combination of heavy and light weight training in my opinion, as well as doing exercises that involved stretching the body as well.

so far i cannot find the actual diet and training routine of andrew garfield just that his "trainers" used "Pilates and Plyometrics" style training to get him into the shape to play spiderman.

but i think a good high rep bodybuilding routine would get the same results as well, with a healthy diet and plenty of walking and cardio each week to tone away some of the fat.

from what i can see no one knows the actual workout for the new spiderman movie it has not been released online or in any news sources, i have looked over a few websites and cannot find anything, just vague exercise routines, "that might get you to look like andrew garfield".

the good thing is though that andrew never got "big" for his role in the new amazing spider man movie, and so this means that his physique and build will be achievable, unlike some action movies like chris hemsworth in thor who got really big, and i think his build was unattainable, chris hemsworth physique would take a lot fo years to even try to emulate, through heavy weights in the gym and the correct diet year in year out, but to look the amazing spider man's andrew garfield you will not need to train or workout that way in 2012.

will not need to train to look like a god, or chris hemsworth in thor, spiderman 4 training is easier in 2012!

but the good news is to look like the amazing spider man in 2012, is possible!, it will just take a decent diet, not super healthy, but healthyish with a good dose of protein everyday to help the muscle building.

next a workout routine, train probably 3 times a week, and do full body workouts, for the most part.

of various gym barbel and dumbell movements.

train say first legs, make sure to warm up well, and not to use too heavy a weight, you do not need to try to use too heavy weights to look like spiderman in 2012, because andrew garfield never got overly big just well toned in spiderman 4 2012 movie.

so focus on good exercises done correctly for say 10 reps a set.

and train at least 1 hour and no more then 2 and half hours in your 3 workouts each week.

was just reading that the character the lizard has been revealed to be in the amazing spider man movie 2012, this is because a toy manufacturer has released toys for the new spiderman film, a lizard toy and so it is thought the bad guy will be the lizard in the new amazing spiderman film

the lizard man villian is probably going to be spidermans main enemy in the new film and will look something like this in the picture below.

the lizard villain the amazing spider man movie 2012 pictures

2012 bodybuilding gym health & fitness supplement essentials to start the year with

2011-12-31T13:08:00.000-08:00

now it is a new year what are the most important bodybuilding and gym training essentials for 2012, what do you need to consider health and bodyuilding supplement wise in 2012?, to get off to a good start and make the most of a whole years exercise and fitness training no matter what your physique goals are?.

first things first is to make the most of having nearly a full year ahead of you to make progress, even if you set your goals small, well, it is better to set smaller goals to achieve as they are easier to achieve then big goals are, and so make progress in small but progressive increments when it comes to your bodybuilding and training goals in 2012.

so start out with a goal of how you want to shape your physique next, next a health goal on how you want to feel in 2012 or by the end of 2012.

next plan how to achieve these goals, whether it be diet changes, using health supplements or just a healthier diet, the food you eat and your diet is very important to how you want to look and feel.

and also plan what kind of training you are going to need to do in 2012 to reach your goals, whether it is more fitness orientated to lose weight and get in shape, or more bodybuilding orientated training at a gym with weights to build muscle and tone your physique in 2012.

then all is left is to make progress in small increments and have a aim with how much you can realistically achieve in the space of one year.

before taking out a gym membership or contract, make sure the gym suits your training needs, do not join a gym that does not suit you, if just bodybuilding to get in shape, or for more hardcore bodybuilding like a gym in the picture below, in a hardcore gym the kind of exercises people do are heavy duty like the squat for legs

if you do not want to be a hardcore heavy duty bodybuilder in 2012, then make sure you choose the correct gym to join, do not join a bodybuilding gym if you do not want to lift weights but would rather, just do cardiovascular type exercise like jogging and running machines then join a more city gym for regular people and not a bodybuilding gym

you also need to decide on a healthy balanced diet first before you even consider taking any supplements, so if you are not sure about what to eat, you will need to research healthy balanced diet and nutrition, this is before looking into whether you need bodybuilding supplements like whey protein powder and creatine in 2012

whey protein powder is good choice of supplement for a bodybuilder who needs to get in extra protein to help repair and rebuild muscle after heavy weights bodybuilding training in the gym, so research whey protein powder supplements in 2012 if bodybuilding

whatever your training goals be the best you can be with your chosen sport we can not all be bodybuilding superman in 2012, but can better ourselves with our own training nonetheless, bodybuilding superman 2012?

bruce lee training cartoon this is excellent video must watch for fans

2011-12-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

have you ever seen this bruce lee training video it is excellent and a must watch for fans in my opinion, it is a kind of cartoon or animation, but really catches some bruce lee's styles and demeanor really well.

from the enter the dragon music to the way bruce lee carried himself when acting or training it is all in this little animation enjoy and it is a MUST WATCH for bruce lee fans.

parts of the video remind me of various scenes bruce lee films, like the stretching scene from way of the dragon before bruce lee fights chuck norris and does all those stretches that make popping noises, bruce lee and chuck norris picture below

i think the chinese women on the left of the picture was in a few of bruce's films

arnold schwarzenegger the greatest bodybuilder to ever live?

2011-12-18T08:01:00.000-08:00

well what are your views about arnold schwarzenegger?, do you agree that arnold is the greatest bodybuilder to ever live?, for his time he was the best, a lot of people will debate that there has been better bodybuilders since arnold's bodybuilding reign in the 1960's 1970's and 1980's.

but as arnold schwarzenegger has said if he had the modern training supplements, better diet and training techniques and weight lifting equipment today's bodybuilders have he would of been even bigger and better shaped.

and so that argument about modern bodybuilder's being better then arnold schwarzenegger might be mute as they have access to better bodybuilding technologies that arnold did not have access to, there is even a case you could say when discussing who is the greatest sportsman to ever live, and of course who has been the most successful athlete in history?.

arnold schwarzenegger the greatest bodybuilder to ever live?

do these bodybuilding pictures prove my case?, arnold schwarzenegger best bodybuilder ever pictures?

who is the best bodybuilder of all time? arnold schwarzenegger?

sharon bruneau female bodybuilder and fitness pictures

2011-12-18T07:46:00.000-08:00

sharon bruneau was unique in that she competed in female bodybuilding and also female fitness as well, she was a beautiful women as well, i think french canadian, i remember her from all the early bodybuilding magazines i used to buy years ago, like flex and musclemag international back in the 1990's.

if you are new to training and working out you might not have heard of sharon bruneau but here is a picture of her, this is a sharon bruneau bodybuilding picture

do i need to use whey protein powder shakes to build muscle?

2011-12-17T11:45:00.000-08:00

i think you do need to use whey protein shakes drinks to build muscle, because it can be so difficult and expensive to get adequate protein in your diet form just food alone.

this is what i tried to do was just get all my protein from food and i found it impossible to achieve most days, were i would just fall short and a protein shake would of made such a big difference to helping me reach my protein goals for each day, and taken the stress out of having to buy so much meat and doing so much cooking all the time as well.

i have trained all this year without a protein supplement and noticed and felt the difficulties and expense and even hassle trying to always have enough protein in from food sources, so it will be interesting to see how my training and muscle growth improves through 2012 when back on whey protein supplements, and of course i will still aim to get as much protein from food sources as possible, just have the whey protein to help out when i want a change or do not have enough food in all the time.

my favourite type of protein powder is a good plain unflavoured bulk bag of whey protein powder concentrate or wpc for short, this is a really good protein powder and can be bought at a cheap price as well.

i am going to buy some more protein powder soon like what i said, the whey protein concentrate to help boost my muscle building training and recovery i did find that i do need to use protein shakes for muscle recovery after weight training.

whey protein powder supplements

whey protein powder reviews yes you need it!

the most important thing for the bodybuilder and essential for muscle recovery and growth is a good diet rich in good quality sources of protein

if you are going to use supplements when bodybuilding, then really whey protein powder supplement is your most important supplement over all supplements you will use, if you have never used bodybuilding supplements before and want to try them out next year through out 2012 to see if they aid your training and recuperation, then the most important supplement you would first have to consider above all bodybuilding supplements is the whey protein shakes to drink.

a best time to drink these muscle building shakes is straight after training and so your body gets a fast and easily absorbable source of muscle building nutrients, so you can start the recovery process which is the muscle building process as soon as possible.

your most important training aid above all to get and use next year is a good quality whey protein powder bodybuilding supplement in 2012.

all the top bodybuilders built there bodies with the help of a good diet rich in various protein sources, in the past days of bodybuilding protein powders where not as good or effective and so they would go for more food over supplements.

which i still agree with food is your most important bodybuilding aid, i am just saying you need protein powder sometimes just to fill gaps in through the day that you find happening in your diet sometimes in the day and especially straight after weight training.

good old protein is still the best bodybuilding supplement and will be in 2012, there will be nothing new or fancy that comes out and changes the fact that the body needs protein to build muscle, the more things change the more they stay the same!, there are no new bodybuilding supplements in 2012

on a side note i want to say arnold schwarzenegger's arms are some of the bets and i still do not see any bodybuilders from the past or future beating arnold schwarzenegger's arms especially his crazy bicep peaks as can be seen in thepicture above and below, bodybuilders like ronnie coleman have had bigger arms, but still i think arnold's for overall style and look are the best shaped arms biceps ever in bodbuilding?.

female fitness models do you like women that keep in shape is this look realistic though?

2011-12-15T13:32:00.001-08:00

female fitness models do you like women that keep in shape is this look realistic though? when you think just how much it takes for these women to get into and maintain this ultra muscular and thin look.

are we putting real women under pressure to try to attain the impossible type body look with these kind of images and expectations, i think so, in the same way women try to get impossibly thin in order to emulate the skinny model look.

it is just the same kind of extreme to just have a female body made up of muscle and no fat, which is not natural or healthy.

it is good to be in shape, and fit and healthy, but not always good to try and force your body into the most perfect magazine fitness model style look, which is not really achievable or not all year round.

what a lot of people do not know is that a lot of these fitness models are not actually in that kind of shape all year round and only getting into that kind of shape for photographs and modelling, and this is why this look is not really attainable or healthy.

it is best to get into a decent shape and where you feel healthy and look good, and not where you are having to force your body to maintain that look all the time, just a nice healthy lifestyle some gym training and not over training so you achieve a more healthy balanced result, without all the stress of a female fitness models workout routine and diet.

this women in the picture below has of course a lot of muscle for a women's body.

images of male bodybuilder? arnold schwarzenegger?

2011-12-15T10:54:00.000-08:00

when you think of the words images or pictures of male bodybuilder, which bodybuilder most springs to mind, percentage wise i think it might be arnold schwarzenegger.

that is more then any other bodybuilder before or after.

out of interest which bodybuilder did you think of at that question, post a reply int he comments section below you do not need to register to this blog to be able to post comments on it.

images of male bodybuilder? arnold schwarzenegger?

jay cutler bodybuilding statues in california usa video? arnold schwarzenegger bodybuilding statues figures

2011-12-14T12:04:00.001-08:00

jay cutler bodybuilding statues in california usa video?, cannot decide at the moment whether this video is real or not?.

it is a video about a guy who built bodybuilding statues of bodybuilders like ronnie coleman, arnold schwarzenegger and jay cutler in a bid to promote bodybuilding to the general public and mainstream.

even if the video further down the page is a youtube spoof, it is true that there are real figures and statues of bodybuilders like arnold schwarzenegger.

what do you think, is this video real or a spoof???.

on a side note in the picture below is that paris hilton with jay cutler or a female fitness model that looks very similar to paris hilton?.

see what i mean though i thought it was paris hilton for a moment in the picture above posing with jay cutler.

but i think it is probably just a female fitness model that has a look of paris hilton with jay cutler!?.

statue? chiselled like muscle!

there are bodybuilding statues and figures out there modelled on real bodybuilders.

these arnold schwarzenegger bodybuilding statues in a bronze or gold colour look pretty good really.

now this video below is definitely real it is arnold schwarzenegger unveiling a statue of himself outside a austrian museum in germany

ronnie coleman new nutrition supplement shop signature series of own designed products more to come in 2012 and 2013

2011-12-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

ronnie coleman new nutrition supplement shop and signature series of own designed products!, its true ronnie coleman has got into the supplement business, starting out with his own bodybuilding supplements website, and also his own designed supplements as well.

the ronnie coleman own designed range of supplements that he has personally helped design are called the ronnie coleman signature series of supplements, i am really excited about this new range of supplements and think ronnie could bring something different to the bodybuilding, health and fitness style supplements markets.

and not only that ronnie coleman now has his own online supplements store as well, which as the moment is catering to the european market and not the american.

ronnie said this is because the american supplements market is saturated, and so they have launched there online bodybuilding supplement website in europe first to see how it goes.

also sounds like ronnie's supplement website has really good postage and package rates so is well worth checking out if you live in europe.

it is going to be interesting to see how the ronnie coleman signature series of supplements takes off also!.

and check this recent video of ronnie coleman out here from finland, he still looks in really good shape, do not discount a chance of ronnie competing again, he still has the mass and shape in this video.

in the video above ronnie mentions the new ronnie coleman nutrition signature series line of supplements products and what will be coming out in the future so far the line consists of:

ronnie coleman signature series myo-blitz (pre-workout supplement)
ronnie coleman signature series resurrect-pm (aids sleep and recovery)

this line of supplements is very new, and is tipped to get going more next year in 2012, when more supplements will be added like a ronnie coleman signature series whey protein powder supplement etc, and so look out for new editions to the ronnie coleman nutrition signature series supplements and online bodybuilders shop in 2012!.

what ronnie coleman was originally known for in the picture above, the best bodybuilding physique, now that is a back double biceps pose.

some say ronnie coleman was the best mr olympia ever, not many argue with that statement, ronnie coleman might have retired from mr olympia competition, but do not discount seeing him potentially in a masters bodybuilding competition in 2012 or 2013!.

jersey gold top milk for bodybuilding and good health

2011-12-11T05:45:00.000-08:00

i am going to try some of that jersey gold top milk for my bodybuilding protein source and see how that goes, jersey gold top milk is said to be the best milk in the world compared to other types of milk you can buy and drink.

also not forgetting guernsey milk as well, guernsey and jersey milk from the channel islands are the best milk in the world, higher in nutrition and omega healthy fats/oils then any other milks.

usually milk is seen as being bad for health, but it looks like the jersey gold top milk style milks in moderation might be good for health and make up a good diet.

also high in bodybuilding nutrients like protein, amino acids, vitamins and minerals compared to other milk sources might be worth a try!.

if you need additional protein and a weight gainer type effect you could blend this gold top milk with some protein powder and a banana to get a very rich bodybuilding shake, high in protein and healthy fats vitamins and minerals this way.

could be a bit of a superfood to get in healthy bodybuilding protein from jersey milk and easy to drink like a ready made protein powder supplement

glutamine amino acid good for recovery and gut intestinal health

2011-11-25T14:43:00.000-08:00

glutamine amino acid good for recovery and gut intestinal health, this is one supplement i would recommend for anyone who works out or suffers with poor digestion or a poor gut function.

glutamine on its own in a pure powder format, at about 10 grams a day in water is really good for healing the gut lining if you have any gut problems it is worth researching to see if it could help your stomach problems.

also when it comes to training if you workout and drink a protein shake after training and eat plenty of protein foods but always recover slowly from working out in the gym, then glutamine is a supplement you might be lacking in and well worth looking into to try and speed up your recovery time from exercise.

glutamine supplement

christmas present gift ideas for bodybuilders in 2011

2011-10-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

christmas present ideas for bodybuilders in 2011, some ideas for what to buy people at christmas this year, especially if they are into bodybuilding and fitness training or just keeping in shape.

there are quite a few options if you are buying christmas presents for someone who is a bodybuilder or into bodybuilding.

here are a few ideas of what you could buy a bodybuilder when choosing them a christmas 2011 present.

if you know what there favourite supplements are you could buy them a top up or there favourite supplement, a little bit of research first to find out what is there favourite supplement, to make sure you get the correct thing, like what whey protein powder do they use etc.

christmas presents for bodybuilders 2011

what about workout equipment as a christmas present if you know they need some new training equipment or gym equipment, even something simple like a new gym towel or gym bag, or some kind of gym equipment, but check first, by asking them if they need anything for there gym and what specifically.

bodybuilders christmas presents 2011

what about getting a bodybuilder gym clothes or training clothes like vests and jogging bottoms and that kind of thing as a christmas gift idea, sweat bands as well is a useful christmas gift idea for someone who works out.

also think about extra large shirts if they are the massive kind of bodybuilder like in the picture below?.

christmas present ideas for bodybuilding 2011

free gym ab training advice how to build the best 6 pack abdominal muscles slim waist shaping routine

2011-07-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

free gym ab training advice how to build the best 6 pack abdominal muscles slim waist shaping routine.

Remember that the abdominal muscle is one long muscle (the rectus abdominis) which goes from the sternum to the pelvis. You can only move the muscle as one unit. However, you can stress the fibres in either the lower or upper areas.

First exercise. Lie on your back with your knees bent, legs hip distance apart, toes lifted. Place your hands behind your head for support only. DO NOT PULL ON YOUR NECK. Pretend there is an orange between your chin and your chest, find a spot on the ceiling to stare at and make sure your butt is rolled slightly upwards so your back is flat. (This is the "pelvic tilt" position). Now raise up 30-35 degrees for two counts, exhaling on the way up, and down two counts. This works the upper fibres of the abs "the easiest way". Now come to the highest position of the exercise and slightly pulse the abs. This is not a big movement, but a very gentle one. The abs are contracted the whole time. Since this acts like a short warm-up type exercise, just do one set of 8 slow counts, and one set of 8 quick pulses.

Now let's bring in the "big guns". Lift up for four counts, hold for four counts, (make sure you exhale while you're holding), turn to the left for four counts (keep elbows back), turn back to center for four counts, turn to the right for four counts, turn back to center for four counts, lift a little higher and hold for four counts (don't forget to exhale), and go back down for four counts. Do this about 8-10 times, and no speeding up!!. Repeat the whole thing changing the four counts to two counts, then again with one count. This gets both the upper and lower fibres of the abs as well as the obliques.

Lift the legs, and cross one ankle over the other (keep the back flat). Bring knees to chest for two counts, lift shoulders for two counts, move knees and shoulders together for two counts, and go back to starting position for two counts. Do this for 8-10 reps. AND DON'T SPEED UP. And make sure to keep the elbows back with the orange under your chin.

Put soles of feet together, either on the floor or on a step if you have one. Lift upper torso up for two counts, and go down for two counts. The movement is exactly the same as for a regular crunch. Exhale on the way up. This is strictly for the lower fibres of the abs. 8-10 reps of this for two sets should do it.

Leg Thrusts is one. Place your hands either on the floor or under your buttocks to protect your back while you are lying flat. Lift your legs into the air with your knees slightly bent. (I like to cross my ankles so I am *sure* to have maximum back support.) Contract the lower portion of your abs and gently lift your legs up using your abs to propel you. This is a very slight movement, and be sure your butt is not tight. Rely completely on your abs to lift your pelvis off the floor. As in the first work out, do this slowly at first - two counts up, two counts down. This is a useless exercise if your butt or legs get involved in the lift. It is strictly lower fibers of the the abs. After you get the feel of it, do 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps slowly. Then, go for those small pulses we did in the first workout. Count about 16-24 counts. That should get those lower fibers pretty good.

As long as we are using this position, here's another one. Place one hand behind your head for support (no tugging on neck.) The legs are in the same position as above, elbow out, chin up. Reach for your toes with the other hand. This is done with a pulsing motion. Do as many as you want, or are comfortable with. Then, still keeping the back and hips facing front, let the working arm reach in the opposite direction. (Right arm reaches for or past left foot) Do those pesky little pulses in this position working your oblique muscles. Switch sides and begin with reaching straight up to your toes, then reaching to the side.

If you are still not fatigued (I am just *writing* all this) ;), do your standard crunches. Lying down, knees are bent at a 90 degree angle to the floor and feet are off the floor. (Elbows and chin are still in the same position as with all the other exercises. This is important. Two different exercises here. First bring knees towards chest, lifting butt slightly off the ground. Take as many reps as you want. Second, lift shoulders and chest towards knees. Then you can do both together at regular tempo as we did in the first section - except this is faster.

Another oblique exercise. Lying down, cross right ankle over left knee.. place right arm out to the side, about shoulder height. With your left hand supporting your head, come up and over. Here is the concept. Do not lead with your elbow. You should not see your elbow out of the corner of your eye. All the work is done with the obliques (waist). Two counts up, two counts down. As many reps as you want. Then come to the top of the contraction and pulse - small moves again. Reverse sides.

Oblique crunches. Start by lying down, feet on the floor, knees close together. Without lifting hips, drop your knees to the right as far as is comfortable. Place hands behind head, elbows out, and bring the rib cage toward the left hip. Do this for two counts up, two counts down. Again, don't tug on your neck. Do this for 2-3 sets of 8 reps. Switch sides.

And remember, always exhale during the exertion, and never hold your breath.

free gym membership training ideas losing weight getting in shape best workout strategy for the conditioned body look

2011-07-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

free gym membership training ideas losing weight getting in shape best workout strategy for the conditioned body look.

gym training strategies

Some things are easier to change than others. You can’t change the fact that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. You can only very seldom change the mind of the policeman who is about to ticket you for speeding, and it takes a lot of time and money to change the color of your house. But, how about an attitude? Say, your attitude toward exercise?

For some people, exercise is a chore. It’s something they “have to do”, and they want to get it over with as quickly and easily as possible. For others, though, exercise is great fun! It’s not an intrusion on an otherwise perfect day; it’s an activity which helps to make that day perfect. So, what’s the difference between these people? Attitude! That’s it!

OK. We’ve established a requirement for a positive attitude toward exercise, to make it a fun activity. So, how do you get that? How do you make the change? Well, here are a few ideas.

Gym training INCENTIVE

Take a look in the mirror, and pick out something you want to improve. Mentally direct your exercise session, and your thoughts about exercise, toward that improvement. Speak to your trainer or aerobics coach about what you might do between sessions to effect that improvement. As you approach your goal and begin to see the results of all your work, that work will become less like work, and more like fun. See yourself improve!

Gym CHALLENGES

Some of us respond well to challenges. If we see a goal which seems unattainable, we want to work even harder to attain it! If that look in the mirror shows you something about yourself which you feel you can’t change, try viewing it as that sort of challenge. You can change it, and you will change it!

RECREATION

Anything which we perceive as recreation, we tend to consider fun. That’s true even of such things as mowing the lawn, or digging a drainage ditch. If it’s a recreational activity, we’ll want to do it. Well, most of us like to dance, and much of an aerobics class is very dance-like, so try looking at it in that light. If your exercise is cycling, even on a stationary bike, take a little tour in your mind! If you do it at home, rent a travel video and put it on the TV. Then walk on your treadmill through Rome, pedal a bike around London, climb Mt. Everest on your stair machine... you get the picture.

WRAP IT UP

The real purpose of all these ploys is to make exercise fun, to make it something you really want to do. Once you are having fun, playing at exercise, you’ll start looking forward to that time, and try harder to incorporate it into your daily life. Then you can start to push the envelope!

What does “pushing the envelope” really mean? Simple. Do it just a little harder. Never to the point of pain, but, just a bit harder than you did it last time. That’s how you improve in anything in life, isn’t it? Want to become a better typist? Try typing at 85 words per minute instead of 80. Pretty soon, you’ll be doing it regularly! Want to tone those muscles better and faster? Grab a 3 lb. weight instead of a 2 lb., or pump that 2 lb. a few more times! Set the cycle resistance up a notch, or pedal an extra mile. You get the idea.

Don’t get discouraged, ever. Sometimes it takes a while before you start seeing improvement. Sometimes, the improvement comes in some unexpected place, too. In aerobics, for example, chances are that the first improvements you’ll notice are in coordination and endurance, possibly flexibility, too. Those will take place before you lose any noticeable size, unless you’re overdoing exercise or not eating properly.

Setting Reasonable Gym Goals

OK, so you’re exercising and watching your diet now. You want to lose weight, buff up, and generally get to feeling better about yourself. How long should it take before you can expect to see some progress?

Most experts in the fitness and exercise field believe that you won’t be able to see significant progress for up to 12 weeks. The moral is: Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see things happening right away. You have to give your body time to adjust itself to your new regimen of exercise and diet. It doesn’t happen all at once!

Overblown expectations can be poison to an otherwise good plan. The commercial Diet Industry would have us all believe that you can lose all the weight you want in a minimum of time, and keep it off with some near- magical set of special foods or pills. Forget it. It just doesn’t happen that way. Some of those diets will, in fact, knock off some pounds. Some of them have testimonials from people who lost a lot of weight. Few to none of them have long-term results without placing their followers on a plan.

GOOD SENSE!

The most intelligent approach is to simply eat reasonably and sensibly, and to exercise. First, you have to find out what’s reasonable for you. That’s going to depend on several factors, but your current level of fitness is high on the list.

Your present fitness level will, in large part, dictate just how rapidly you’ll be able to burn fat, as your metabolism is directly related to general fitness. The more fit you are, the more fat you can burn in a given amount of time, whether exercising or not!

BASAL METABOLISM??

Next, you’ll have to determine about how many calories you might burn in an average day; your basal metabolism rate, or BMR. If you just want an easy guideline, here's a simple formula -- (exact measurement of BMR requires some pretty sophisticated facilities, indeed!!) --
Adult males: Weight in pounds X 12
Adult females: Weight in pounds X 11
For every 10 years older than 20, you should lower the result by 2%. Examples:
180-lb man, 180 X 12 = 2160 calories per day at age 20-30
120-lb woman, 120 X 11 = 1320 calories per day at age 20-30
(Deutsch, 1980)

ANOTHER CALCULATION

Another, more recent calculation used for determining the actual components of a diet assumes that you are exercising regularly. It is the same for both men and women. All quantities are in grams per pound of body weight: 1.5 carbohydrate, 1.0 protein, 0.3 fat.

the bodybuilding gym look

Mike Mentzer's High Intensity Gym Training For Bodybuilding

2011-07-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

Mike Mentzer's High Intensity Gym Training For Bodybuilding

I have read many articles on how High Intensity Training is more of a "cult / religion" than reality. Well I can personally say that it is the most productive workout routine I have ever done in my life. I literally make gains and become stronger every workout, though you can experiment with what mentzer says to suit your body if you struggle with pure HIT style training.

Many people did not like Mike Mentzer for his strong opinions on this routine and his negative approach to all other routines. I think that if you read Mike's writings, you will see that the concepts are solid, but his presentation isn't the greatest. He goes too much into philosophical points of view to get his points across, which I think frustrates the readers.

If you look at weight lifting logically and not emotionally, then High Intensity Training makes perfect sense. Driving east down a road will never get you going north. Eventually you will need to turn the car in the right direction. If you don't see improvements in your workouts on your current workout routine, then logically more of the same isn't going to change anything.

Investigate, research, and improve. Follow others, and you may be headed down the wrong path! You should be able to create a routine that makes gains for you. If someone else's routine does that, then you are lucky, but more people don't see the gains that a lot of these genetic abnormalities achieve (Arnold & other Mr. Olympia winners like dorian yates, jay cutler).

Hanging from a bar 6 hours a day will not get you as tall as Wilt Chamberlin, so don't be so convinced that lifting 4 hours a day will get you a body like Arnold's. Improvements can be made but not beyond your genetic boundaries, i find it helpful as well to switch back to regular bodybuilding style programs as well, as just focusing on HIT all the time.

Work smarter!

gym exercise or train outdoors as well walking just get some form of fitness and training

2011-05-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

gym exercise or train outdoors as well walking just get some form of fitness and training, it does not have to be anything extreme, if you do not want to go to a gym or use your own exercise equipment, then still one of the oldest and best exercises is simple walking around, and to have a walking exercise plan for losing weight just do a bit each day and build up as you get fitter to more walking distance, because walking is good for you!.

but the main thing is that you try to do a little exercise each day, just to be healthy and fit and to lose some weight.

sometimes it can be practically impossible to reduce weight through exercise alone, unless one can do a tremendous amount of it. For the food that one eats is usually enough to cover the energy lost by the exercise.

However, exercise is a very important feature of any fat reducing program; not because of the fat that is burned up in the exercise—and there is some burned—but for the reason that it is necessary to keep one in a healthy condition. The muscles, the internal organs, the bones, the brain, are all benefited—in fact, the entire system.

If you have not been accustomed to exercise, I warn you to take up only one or two at a time and do each one a few times only. You will be atrociously sore, and you will realize that you have muscles of which you did not know existed before your exercise training.

However, persist, if you are sure there are no organic reasons why you shouldn't—such as a weak heart. (In case you are very much overweight, I think it advisable to wait until you have reduced somewhat.)

It is splendid if you can belong to a gymnasium or to a physical culture class, but ten to fifteen minutes' systematic daily exercise practiced with vim, and each set followed by deep breathing, will do more good than a gymnasium spasmodically attended. Brisk walking with a long stride isn't so bad; in fact, if taken with a very long stride it will twist 'most every organ you have in your body.

gym training male bodybuilder bodybuilding inspirational pictures images photos for training

2011-05-14T11:09:00.001-07:00

when i go to the gym to train and workout i know i am not going to end up looking like these famous bodybuilders in these pictures, so this is not the reason i post these pictures, the reason i post these bodybuilding pictures is for inspiration to get to the gym and train and workout for men and women.

the idea being that you can use inspirational pictures to motivate your workouts and to give you that edge you need to do a workout that day, some days you just do not feel like going to the gym even though you have no injuries and feel fine as such, you are just lethargic, this is where i find inspirational pictures of the impossible can give a good motivation to go workout and train.

you might not necessarily want to build a top bodybuilder physique or lift big heavy weights, and like me just trying to build a nice slim muscle toned physique, so why look at muscular bodies before working out?.

it can be simply say you are training arms that day, to look at a bodybuilder with massive arms like ronnie coleman, you can then visualize there arms while working out and get a more positive effect in your workout, these is using the mind into the muscle technique when working out.

if say you are trying to tone up or build a 6 pack abs you can use the same technique even if you are going to the gym and just doing cardiovascular training on all those types of gym machines like stepper, exercise bike or treadmill or those cross country skiing type machines, you can visualize yourself getting into your best shape and physical condition health wise.

a lot of weight training, bodybuilding or fitness training is all about your mental perspective and outlook so you have to be positive to get positive results, this is why motivating yourself and finding ways to motivate yourself while doing your particular exercises and workout routine is essential, if you go train with a deflated feeling then your workouts will suffer.

this kind of motivated positive thinking can work well in all aspects of life as well, not just gym training with these male bodybuilding images.

the mass style bodybuilding physique of male bodybuilder Michael Francois

Porter Cottrell a male bodybuilder known more for lines and shape rather then shear muscle mass.

the Mr Olympia physique of top male bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman picture

the classic lines of bodybuilder Charles Clairmonte

another male bodybuilder physique with classic lines Dexter Jackson

arnold schwarzenegger and maria shriver divorce separating news 2011

2011-05-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

the news is that arnold schwarzenegger and maria shriver are separating this does not automatically mean they are getting divorced, but so far they have said they are just going to have some time apart and go over there problems.

arnold schwarzenegger and maria shriver have said that the most important thing for them is to make sure there children are okay as well.

arnold schwarzenegger is now back in the movies again to play his old role as a action star like in his earlier films, recently arnold schwarzenegger had a part in the Sylvester Stallone film The Expendables, and is now looking for his next big movie role.

in his early years arnold schwarzenegger was known for his massive bodybuilding physique and films like pumping iron the bodybuilding documentary film and various weight lifting and bodybuilding training advice books.

arnold schwarzenegger

bill davey famous bodybuilder workout video pictures magazine cover model

2011-05-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

here is a bodybuilder called bill davey who i remember was on all the bodybuilding magazines covers back in the 1990's and 2000's, mostly would be on musclemag and i think muscle media as well as muscle and fitness among other bodybuilding magazines covers for bill davey.

this was because bill davey had a muscular physique but not to the point where it was too muscular and so this seemed to help him do well at getting a lot of the bodybuilding and fitness magazines pictures.

the kind of physique that bill davey had would be difficult to build even with years of gym training, but it is more attainable then the very big mass monsters as they are called with the super heavyweight type bodybuilders like ronnie coleman for example who is a giant muscle wise.

with bill davey physique it is a little more sleeker then that kind of build but would still probably nearly impossible to attain, but would be more of a realistic goal then some of the bigger bodybuilders bodies are.

this video below in this bodybuilding profile video below it shows a lot of bill davey body workout routine and philosophies regarding the sport of bodybuilding.

picture of bodybuilder bill davey

the squat exercise best leg exercise and overall muscle builder and strength how to do properly and safely get in shape for summer 2011

2011-04-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

The squat is probably one of the most important exercise for both the
athlete and the person seeking greater muscular mass. It is the main
lower body exercise and involves most of the major muscles in the body
including: quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals, low back, and upper back.
Also, inclusion of this type of exercise (large muscle, heavy weight)
exercises has been shown to improve overall body growth and fitness if you want to get in shape in the quickest possible time, so it can be important to do squats as well as cardio, though do lighter weight squats if incorporating in a cardio workout and use higher reps, always be well rested before doing your next set of squats.

the quickest way to get the whole body in shape is to mostly focus on cardiovascular training, but to get some tone and muscle shape in your legs when working out at the gym try and learn how to do the barbell squat ask a personal trainer also to show you and look on youtube at the various squat videos to get a idea, though the squat will not be for everyone, so work out if it suits you first, and use light weights and high reps to get used to the exercise.

the squat is a exercise which will benefit all muscles in the body. From an athletic standpoint, the squat provides the strength and power for all leg movements and is
useful for any athlete who needs use of his/her legs (i.e. all of them).
It is more movement specific than leg extensions in that it is a movement
which is performed during daily tasks (i.e. lifting something from the knees).
Also, some physical therapists feel it is more beneficial than leg extensions
for knee (especially anterior cruciate ligament damage) rehabilitation because
it is a closed kinetic chain exercise whereas extensions are a open chain
exercise (I'll explain this a little later).

However, for the last 30 or so years, the squat has suffered from the
misconception that it is bad for your knees and extremely dangerous.
To the contrary, the squat can be extremely beneficial and can strengthen
the supporting structures of the knees if done properly. As a final note this
time, let me state that I am primarily addressing the back squat. There are
a whole bunch of variations on the squat (i.e. sissy squat, front squat, hack
squat, etc) but here I will only be using the back squat as an example.
Primarily, I will be using a recent position statement by the National Strength
and Conditioning Association (NSCA) as my reference. I used it as a reference
for my term paper and it was a fairly inclusive review of the available
research.

1. Squats, when performed correctly and with appropriate supervison,
are not only safe, but may be a significant deterrent to knee injuries.

2. The squat exercise can be an important component of a training
program to improve the athlete's ability to forcefully extend the knees
and hips, and con considerably enhance performance in many sports.

3. Excessive training, overuse injuries, and fatigue-relted problems do
occur with squats. The likelihood of such injuries and problems is
substantially diminished by adherence to established principles of
exercise program design.

4. The squat exercise is not detrimental to knee joint stability when
performed correctly.

5. Weight training, including the squat exercise, strengthens connective
tissue, including muscles, bones, ligaments, and tendons.

6. Proper form depends on the style of the squat and the muscles to be
conditioned (see Appendices A and B). Bouncing in the bottom position
of a squat to help initiate ascent increases mechanical loads on the knee
joint and is therefore contraindicated.

7. While squatting results in high forces on the back, injury potential
is low with appropriate techniques and supervision.

8. Conflicting reports exist as to the type, frequency, and severity of weight-
training injuries. Some reports of high injury rate may be based on biased
samples. Others have attributed injuries to weight training, including the
squat, which may have been caused by other factors.

9. Injuries attributed to the squat may result not from the exercise itself,
but from improper technique, pre-existing structural abnormalities, other
physical activities, fatigue or excessive training.

As you can see, the NSCA, possibly the foremost authority on strength and
conditioning, seems to feel that fears surrounding the squat as a
dangerous exercise are unfounded. Assuming that proper form is used
and that there are no pre-existing injuries or contra-indications to
squatting, it can be extrememly beneficial and may even help prevent
knee injuries by strengthening the muscles and surrounding structures
of the knee.

They describe proper form in the squat this way.
- Use approximately a shoulder-width foot stance.

- Descend in a controlled manner. Ascent can be made at a variety of speeds.
At faster speeds, there should be no compromise in technique.

- Proper breath control is important to support the torso. The breath should be
held from the start of the descent until the athlete passes the sticking point
of the ascent.
*Actually, this is probably not a very good idea. Holding one's breath (The
Valsalve Maneuver) can be potentially very dangerous as it can cause
blood pressure to skyrocket which may cause fainting when normal
breathing is resumed. It is probably better to just inhale on the descent
and, perhaps, hold the breath very momentarily on the ascent as you fight
past the sticking point, and then exhale.

- Avoid bouncing or twisting from the bottom position.

- Maintain a normal lordotic posture with the torso as close to vertical
as possible during the entire lift.

- Generally, in typical back or front squats, descend only until the tops
of the thighs are parallel to the floor or slightly below. Exceptions
can be made for sports that require lower positions.

- Feet should be kept flat on the floor.

- Forward lean of the knee increases shear forces on the knee. Keeping
the shin perpendicular may increase shear forces on the back as a result
of forward trunk inclination. Although there are exceptions, the shin
generally should remain as vertical as possible to reduce shear forces at
the knee. Maximal forward movement of the knees should place them no
more than slightly in front of the toes. Depending on th type of squat
being used, volume and intensity should not be increased at a rate that
exceeds the body's ability to adapt to the imposed demands.

- Every effort should be made to maintain a consistent stable pattern of
motion for each reptition, in order to load the muscles in a consistent
manner and help prevent injury.

As you can see, the NSCA recommends only going to or slightly
past parallel while squatting. Some of the early fears surrounding
the squats were due to the injury potential of full squats. Flexing the
knee much past 90 degrees can put enormous stress on the ligaments
of the knee and full squats should generally be avoided, with certain
possible exceptions. Although they don't mention the use of a belt
in their recommendations, it is probably a good idea to use one, especially
for heavy sets to help support the spine. Additionally, it provides the
lifter something to push against while exhaling and may actually
increase strength in the lift.

Finally, I would like to describe briefly the increasing use of the squat
(and leg press) in a rehabilitation setting for knee injuries. Some
therapists prefer squat-type movements to the typical leg-extension
because it is a closed kinetic chain exercise. Put very simply (because
I honestly don't know that much about it), exercises where both feet
are in contact with the floor are considered to be closed chain while
exercises like leg extensions are open chain. So, what does this have
to do with anything. Well, first and foremost, most open chain exercises
do not correlate with real-world movements. When was the last time you
had to sit down and extend your knee (excepting your last leg workout).
The squat, on the other hand, is performed daily anytime you bend your
knees to lower your body followed by an extension (i.e. picking something
up, assuming you are not using your back). Thus there is greater specificity
when using closed chain movements in terms of applicability to the real
world.

However, there are other differencs. During a leg extension, only the
quadriceps are contracting as opposed to squats where both quads and
hamstring are active. This has one very major consequence. During a
leg extension, there is not only rotation of the shin about the knee during
extension but also some linear translation of the shin. This puts amazing
stress on the cruciate ligaments of the knee, especially at the beginning
of the movement. However, during a squat, both the quads and hams are
firing. Since they are pulling from opposite sides of the shin, there tends
to be a lot less demand put on the knee as there is not as much translation.

Being able to squat comfortably with a bare-bar low on the shoulders
is a fairly good measure of flexibility in the shoulder girdle, and
of the fact that you have mastered the form (head up, chest out) of the movement. You really want to have these elements
in order before you start squatting with any meaningful weight,
whether you intend to squat "powerlifter-style" (low on shoulders)
or "bodybuilder-style" (higher on traps). In any event, you want to
be able to carry the bar low enough that it does not bear down on that
unmuscled area at the neck. Having good traps tends to help here too.

when squatting It is impossible not to have your knees go forward some, unless you
are wearing knee wraps, a big belt and a squat suit, but they are for
very serious weights. But you should try to keep your knees over your
feet, don't bend them in toward the middle and point your toes out a
little, from straight away. Don't bounce at the bottom and start
slowly. Take time to build up your squat. The balance and control is
important to develop along with strength or you'll wind up getting
hurt. Remember that the squat is not just a leg excercise it also
works the hips, back and abs.

If you want to see what it should feel like to perform a squat correctly,
do the following:
Stand *facing toward* a wall (very, very close with your toes almost
touching the wall.) Keeping your eyes straight in front of you (or slightly
inclined) do a normal squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor.

You will be unable to perform the exercise incorrectly if you use this
technique. If you do it wrong, you will have a tendency to either fall
backward, or the knees will flare out to the sides. Practice it until
you get the right feel. Then use the weight.

male bodybuilder picture doing the leg press machine exercise a alternative to the squat if you do not want to do squats

free gym membership blog training advise how to build muscle and get in shape and lose weight get the body you want

2011-03-22T18:12:00.000-07:00

Train hard at the gym but train sensible, there is no need to throw around weights when doing bodybuilding, you are looking to sculpt your physique not destroy, with this free gym membership blog i am trying to point out a sensible ways to train to get a good physique.

when in the gym do your cardio workouts like exercise bike and rowing machine and treadmill etc to get in shape and burn fat, when doing the weights section of the gym use the machines and weights to sculpt your body how you want it to look, but do not throw around weights or be careless, train carefully and under control in the gym.

training intensity is the key concentrate on the muscle and get a good pump and flex out of your exercises, under slow control and muscle contraction, this is the way to train at the gym.

The gist of it is that unless you are an olympic or powerlifter, the amount of load you use is of no consequence. If you don't feel the exercise in the target muscle, then drop the load.

For bodybuilding (which is what I do) you need to feel the muscle cramp, pump and burn. (and this has been said many times), you have to leave your ego at the gym door. The young guys I see in the gym may as well have *EGO* written on the backs.

While you're quite correct in saying that many/most young bodybuilder wannabes lift too-heavy weights using atrocious form, I must disagree when you say that load doesn't matter. When it comes to increasing size, load--and constantly increasing it while maintaining correct form -- is all-important. In fact, you can't gain appreciable size without it.

Further, I disagree that bodybuilding training necessitates cramping, pumping, and burning the muscle. The cramping sensation results from a hard contraction. Pumping is the accumulation of extra blood within the muscle. Burning is the accumulation of metabolic wastes within the muscle. The fact is that none of these sensations mean that the muscle has been properly or adequately worked. I usually get a pump from training, but seldom get those cramping or burning sensations. Neither do I train for that -- I train to get stronger and therefore bigger. And I've built enough size to compete successfully in bodybuilding. Every competitive bodybuilder I know trains the same way.

Yes, the load must be kept on the target muscle, but an experienced bodybuilder knows how to do that while lifting heavy weights. And when you're lifting heavy weights, squeezing and burning is the last thing on your mind. Instead, you're focusing on moving that damn weight again and again with the muscles you're trying to work. You're focusing on turning that fear of the weight -- and make no mistake, a truly productive weight is one that generates fear and trepidation -- into positive energy. You're focusing on generating as much controlled aggression as possible. Just
like a competitive lifter -- except you're doing it for sets of 6+ reps instead of 1-5 reps.

Bodybuilding may not be Power or Olympic lifting, but anyone who wants to put on an appreciable amount of muscle better prepare him/her self to grunt and groan under the strain of ever-increasing poundages. No one has gotten big lifting light weights in perfect form accompanied by cramping, burning, and pumping. Heck, if it were that easy, we'd see a lot more well-muscled people walking around.

you might not get to look like the male bodybuilder physiques picture below, but you can aim to be the best you can be when pumping weights in the gym, always remember to do cardio like treadmill to tone and weights and machines to sculpt, always use good technique, to work your way into getting into better shape and being more healthy and active.

The Perfect gym bodybuilding Workout when short of time and to avoid over training in shape for summer 2011 beach body

2011-03-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

The Perfect gym bodybuilding Workout when short of time and to avoid over training, could be as follows below, personally i would not follow such a routine as i think you need more exercises, but you could probably train like this if you lack much gym training time, and are in a rush to get your bodybuilding in, and get in shape for summer 2011 get that muscular beach body if going abroad on holiday, time to get training now, it is not too late to get in shape.

to change this workout around use different exercises but follow the same amount of sets and reps each time you work out.

Day ONE: Chest, Tris, and Shoulders

Chest

Bench: 3 sets of 5: appx 75% of max
Incline: 2 sets of 8

Tris

Cable Pulldowns: 2 sets of 12

Tricept Pushdowns: 1 set to failure

Shoulders

Dumbell Lats: 2 sets of 10

Shrugs: 3 sets of 7

Day 2- Back and Biceps

Back

Cable Pulldowns to Pecs: 2 sets of 10 (hold at chest for 5 sec.)

Bent over rows: 2 sets of 10

Biceps

Slow, Full, Heavy, Curls: 2 sets of 15

No, I'm not crazy, it's very easy to overtrain biceps

Day 3- Legs

Squats: 3 sets of 5

Leg Extensions: 2 sets of 12 (hold at top for 5 seconds)

Hamstring Curls: 2 sets of 12

Day Four, You get to rest!

sit back, relax, maybe work on those abs, or do some cardiovascular excercise!

Each day, feel free to work on your abs and calves, but no more than 2x20 on calves! Do no more than whats in your workout, just switch exercises for example you can do dumbell bench instead of barbell for variations etc.

you won't get to look like this on such a routine but you will get into some good shape and build and maintain a good bodybuilding physique.

the male bodybuilding look is out of most us mortal gym trainers, picture more for inspiration for gym training, the aim of this gym/bodybuilding blog is just to get in shape, if you want to be in shape for the summer in 2011, or the beach, get a nice toned body or lose weight, also to be fit and healthy as well, and general enjoyment of gym training anyway.

top male bodybuilder francis benfatto

paul demayo picture cable crossovers good gym chest exercise for inner pec muscle building

2011-02-19T06:31:00.000-08:00

paul demayo picture cable crossovers good gym chest exercise for inner pec muscle building!.

good exercise to try when working out at the gym is the cable crossovers machine that works the chest muscles really well, it is said to be a detail exercise for the chest muscles, though i think can also put mass on the chest muscles as well.

because the cables crossovers exercise can help you hit areas of your chest muscles that you have had trouble reaching through exercises like barbell bench press and or dumbell bench presses.

so the cable crossovers exercise is one that is well worth trying and most gyms have these opposing cable machines to do this exercise on, to start with use very little weight on this exercise until you start to get used to the movement.

cable crossovers is a exercise where not much weight is needed as it isolates the pectoral muscles very well, and so is a kind of isolation exercise and excellent for building detail into the chest and also reaching lagging areas on your chest muscles.

in this picture below the late great paul demayo is seen doing the cable crossovers exercise to build and sculpt his massive pectoral muscles.

bodybuilder paul demayo

you can see the results of bodybuilding on male bodybuilder paul demayo's chest in this picture below, though this kind of mass is built through hardcore bodybuilding and heavy weights, and not just regular gym training that we do, it can be good inspiration to look at bigger physiques, even though they are not realistic.

these looks at massive bodybuilders are more to be for training inspiration not to be under the illusion that you can actually look like them, but to be the best you can be with what you have, and to learn how to train and work out better as well, enjoy your time working out in the gym, so you do not have to look at gym training as being a bore, for men and women.

late male bodybuilder paul demayo picture freakish muscle mass

Paul Demayo Training Video part 1

Paul Demayo Training Video part 2

cross country ski machine gym skiing training 2011

2011-02-19T05:06:00.000-08:00

The Cross country skiing machine is another excellent machine to utilise when gym training if you are trying to lose lots of excess pounds and get a more trimmed defined physique, very good for toning up so the fat stores on the body are more spaced out.

Cross country skiing is low to medium impact exercise (low to medium compression on the joints) and is recommended for intermediate and advanced fitness level exercisers. Cross country skiing on the cross country ski machine will enhance the muscular strength and muscular endurance levels of the mid-torso muscle (abdominals and lower back) and lower body's muscle groups (hips, gluteals, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves). Cross country skiing also incorporates the upper back muscles (latissimus dorsi and rhomboids), shoulder muscles (deltoids and rotator cuff), triceps, biceps and forearms.

The resistance level and program selection for cross country skiing on the cross country ski machine are determined by the exerciser's fitness level and target heart rate zone. Increasing the speed level an/or program level of the cross country ski machine will increase the difficulty level for the exerciser. It is recommended that the exerciser stay within their target heart rate zone while cross country skiing on the cross country ski machine.

1. Begin the exercise by placing both feet on the foot boards (skis) and insert your feet into the cross country ski machine. The balls of the feet are to remain against the foot boards (skis) during the entire time that you are using the cross country ski machine.

2. Lean forward and grab hold of the handles with both hand. 3. Place the hip pad against the hips and use the pad as a guide for maintaining an upright body position. Do not lean against the pad while using the cross country ski machine.

4. Begin the cross country skiing motion by pushing the foot boards (skis) backwards with the legs while you are simultaneously pulling the handle towards the sides of the body with your arms.

5. After extending the legs until they are straight and the handles cross past the plane of the body repeat the entire movement.

6. Continue to perform the skiing motion until achieving the desired time and/or heart rate level of the exercise segment of the exercise segment.

running treadmill workouts in the gym what to look for

2011-02-19T05:04:00.000-08:00

Running is high impact exercise (high compression on the joints) and is recommended for intermediate and advanced fitness level exercisers. Running will enhance the muscular strength and muscular endurance levels of the mid-torso muscle (abdominals and lower back) and lower body's muscle groups (hips, gluteals, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves).

Incorporating a modified swinging motion (forward and backwards) with the arms will help increase the exerciser's heart rate level and tone the muscles of the upper arms and shoulders. Holding weights in the hands will increase the tone of the upper arm muscles and shoulder muscles.

The speeds and incline levels for running are determined by the exerciser's fitness level and target heart rate zone. Increasing the speed and/or incline level will increase the difficulty level for the exerciser. It is recommended that the exerciser stay within their target heart rate zone.

best full body gym exercises to try in 2011 rowing training

2011-02-19T04:59:00.000-08:00

This is one of my most favourite exercises to do when in the gym, as it gives a very good full body workout like nothing else, rowing really hits all the muscle groups of the body very and gives a very good stretch as well, i am going to make rowing one of my must do exercises when gym training in 2011.

Rowing is low to medium impact exercise (low to medium compression on the joints) and is recommended for intermediate and advanced fitness level exercisers. Rowing on the rowing machine will enhance the muscular strength and muscular endurance levels of the mid-torso muscle (abdominals and lower back) and lower body's muscle groups (hips, gluteals, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves). Rowing also incorporates the upper back muscles (latissimus dorsi and rhomboids), shoulder muscles (deltoids and rotator cuff), triceps, biceps and forearms.

The resistance level and program selection for rowing on the rowing machine are determined by the exerciser's fitness level and target heart rate zone. Increasing the speed level an/or program level of the rowing machine will increase the difficulty level for the exerciser. It is recommended that the exerciser stay within their target heart rate zone while rowing on the rowing machine.

1. Begin the exercise by placing both feet on the foot boards and strap your feet into the rowing machine. The balls of the feet are to remain against the foot boards during the entire time that you are using the rowing machine.

2. Lean forward and grab hold of the handle with an overhand grip. An underhand grip may also be used, but this grip will emphasize the biceps muscles more.

3 Continue to step with the legs and keep the upper body upright while stepping.

4. Begin the rowing motion by pushing away from the foot boards with the legs while you are simultaneously pulling the handle towards the body with your arms. Do not pull the handle first without pushing with your legs. Pulling with the upper body first may cause discomfort and/or injury to the lower back and spine. 5. After extending the legs until they are straight and the handle touches the abdominal area while pushing and pulling backwards away from the front of the rowing machine move forward and repeat the entire movement.

6. Continue to row until achieving the desired time and/or heart rate level of the exercise segment.

really get the toned fat loss on your figure with the rowing exercise, really helps to shed the pounds and lose the fat.

best gym exercises exercise bike cycling

2011-02-19T04:55:00.000-08:00

this is obvious but when at the gym one of the best cardio exercises to do is cycling, whether it is better then doing the treadmill is probably down to personal preference.

Cycling is low impact exercise (low compression on the joints) and is recommended for any fitness level exercisers. Cycling will enhance the muscular strength and muscular endurance levels of the mid- torso muscle (abdominals and lower back) and lower body's muscle groups (hips, gluteals, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves).

how to do the dumbbell squat gym exercise training

2011-02-15T07:51:00.000-08:00

The dumbbell squat exercise develops muscular strength and endurance in the following muscle groups:

Quadriceps muscles

Hamstrings muscles

Gluteal muscles

Hip muscles (secondary muscles)

Calf muscles (secondary muscles)

1.Stand upright and hold a dumbbell in each hand at the side of the body.

2.Place the soles of your feet flat on the ground.

A wide foot stance emphasizes the gluteal muscles and the hamstrings muscles.

A close foot stance emphasizes the vastus lateralis of the quadriceps.

A shoulder-width foot stance emphasizes the entire lower body's muscle groups.

3.Begin the exercise by lowering the body towards the floor (eccentric contraction). During the eccentric contraction of the exercise movement:

The knee joint angle is never greater than 90-degrees.

The soles of the feet remain flat on the ground. A small piece of wood or rubber may be placed under the heels of the feet to offset heel elevation.

The pelvic girdle and lower back rotate slightly.

4.Once the knee joint achieves a 90-degree angle, begin lifting the weighted barbell upward (concentric contraction).

5.The legs are fully extended to a 0-degree angle of knee joint extension. Do not lock the knee joint to full extension.

6.Continue the movement in a slow and controlled motion until the desired number of repetitions is achieved.

how to train the wide-grip rear pull-up gym training exercise

2011-02-15T07:48:00.000-08:00

The wide-grip rear pull-up exercise using body weight develops muscular strength and endurance in the following muscle groups:

Lattisimus dorsi

Teres major

Rhomboids

Serratus anterior

Anterior deltoid (Front) (secondary muscle)

Medial deltoid (Middle) (secondary muscle)

Posterior deltoid (Rear) (secondary muscle)

Biceps (secondary muscles)

Forearms (secondary muscles)

1.Grip a pull-up bar with the hands slightly wider than shoulder-width in an underhand or overhand grip and hang the body towards the floor.

2.Lift (pull upward) the entire body while bending the neck downward until the bar is even with the back of the neck (concentric contraction).

3.After achieving a full concentric contraction, lower the body slowly to the original starting position (eccentric contraction).

4.Continue the movement until the desired number of repetitions is achieved.

how to do The floor abdominal crunch gym exercise

2011-02-15T07:46:00.000-08:00

The floor abdominal crunch exercise develops muscular strength and endurance in the following muscles:

External obliques

Internal obliques

Rectus abdominus

Transverse abdominus

Intercostals

1.Lie flat on the floor or exercise mat in a supine (on the back) position with the knees bent at a 45-degree angle and the feet flat on the floor.

2.Before beginning this movement, establish a neutral pelvic tilt for protection of the lower back. A neutral pelvic tilt is performed by shifting the hips upward and backwards, thus pressing the lower back into the floor or exercise mat. This position should be held for the duration of each specific abdominal exercise.

3.Begin the exercise by placing the hands behind the base of the neck for cervical support.

Abdominal crunch with added weight

Begin the exercise by placing a dumbbell or weight plate in the hands, behind the base of the neck for cervical support or on the chest wall.

4.Lift the upper torso off the floor, elevating the shoulder blades 1 to 4 inches above the floor or exercise mat (concentric contraction). Exhale while lifting the upper torso. Failure to exhale may result in dizziness or possible fainting.

5.After achieving a full contraction, slowly lower the upper torso to the original starting position (eccentric contraction).

6.Continue the movement until the desired number of repetitions is achieved.

how to do gym exercise The seated calf raise

2011-02-15T07:43:00.000-08:00

The seated calf raise exercise using a weight machine develops muscular strength and endurance in the following calf muscles:

Soleus

Extensor digitorum longus

Flexor digitorum longus

Anterior tibialis

1.Sit on the weight machine.

2.The balls (front half) of the foot sole are placed on the foot platform. Changing the direction of the heels inward towards the midline of the body (duck foot stance) will enhance the usage of the gastrocnemius muscle. Do not rotate the heels outward from the midline of the body (pigeon toe stance) during a seated calf raise. This will cause patella femoral discomfort and possible injury to the knee joint.

3.The knee caps are slightly extended in front of the knee pad. The knee caps should not be directly under the knee pad. This will cause discomfort to the knee joint.

4.Begin the exercise by raising the heels upwards as high as possible and lifting the knee pad upwards (concentric contraction). The body should remain upright with the back straight throughout the concentric contraction.

5.After completing a concentric contraction, lower the heels past the parallel plane of the foot platform and point the toes upward (eccentric contraction). The body should remain upright with the back straight throughout the eccentric contraction.

6.The seated calf raise using a weight machine is performed using both legs or one leg at a time until the desired number of repetitions is achieved.

best gym exercise The standing bilateral E-Z curl bar curl

2011-02-15T07:40:00.000-08:00

The standing bilateral E-Z curl bar curl exercise develops muscular strength and endurance in the following muscles:

Biceps brachii

Brachialis

Brachioradialis

Forearms muscles (secondary muscles)

1.Stand in an upright position with the feet shoulder-width apart and the knees slightly bent (a 15-degree angle of knee joint flexion), facing the weight stack of the cable cross-over machine.

2.Hold (underhand grip) a weighted E-Z curl bar with both hands on either the inner angle grip or outer angle grip and extend the arms downward towards the waist.

3.Begin the exercise by bending the elbows and lifting the bar towards the neck line while keeping the shoulder joints stable (concentric contraction). Keep the elbows close to the body throughout the entire concentric contraction.

4.After achieving a full concentric contraction, extend the elbow joint, lowering the bar back to the original starting position (eccentric contraction). Do not hyperextend the elbow joints during the eccentric contraction.

5.Continue the movement until the desired number of repetitions is achieved.

gym exercises explained The oblique crossover

2011-02-15T07:36:00.000-08:00

gym exercises explained The oblique crossover exercise develops muscular strength and endurance in the following muscles:

External obliques

Internal obliques

Rectus abdominus

Transverse abdominus

Intercostals

1.Lie flat on the floor, exercise mat or abdominal crunch board in a supine (on the back) position with the knees bent at a 45-degree angle. Position one foot on the ground and cross the opposite ankle over the bent knee (thigh area).

2.Before beginning this movement, establish a neutral pelvic tilt for protection of the lower back. A neutral pelvic tilt is performed by shifting the hips upward and backwards, thus pressing the lower back into the floor or exercise mat. This position should be held for the duration of each specific abdominal exercise.

3.Support the head by bringing both hands behind the base of the neck. Beginners can stabilize the torso by placing the opposite arm flat on the ground, just to the side of the body.

4.Begin the exercise by lifting the upper torso upwards and across the body, towards the knee that is crossed over the opposite leg (concentric contraction). Elevate the upper body as much as possible while still maintaining a neutral pelvic tilt. Exhale while lifting the upper torso during the concentric contraction. Failure to exhale may result in dizziness or possible fainting.

5.After achieving a full contraction, slowly lower the upper torso to the original starting position (eccentric contraction).

6.Repeat the exercise movement on both sides of the body.

7.Continue the movement until the desired number of repetitions is achieved.

thegymgroup or the gym group new cheap affordable gym membership no contracts

2011-02-02T17:11:00.000-08:00

thegymgroup or the gym group new cheap affordable gym membership no contracts, check out this relatively new gym chain that does not do contracts, you just pay a rolling month for gym membership with this gym company called the gym group.

basically it is just a direct debited monthly fee, and also said to be a very reasonable and cheap fee, that is basically the best price around when looking for cheap gym membership, that cannot be beaten really, its just down to if you want to train at the gym or not, price is not a factor as it is so cheap.

the gym group have all the necessary training equipment as well, free weights, treadmills, stationary bikes, resistance machines, smith machines, power racks, dumbells, basically all the equipment you need to train is in one of these the gym group gyms.

so very worthwhile to check them out, they look to have lots to offer if they are in your town.

you can find the gym group in these towns, so if you want the best price gym membership and no contract, check to see if they are in your area!.

The Gym Birmingham
The Gym Brighton
The Gym Bristol
The Gym Guildford
The Gym Hounslow
The Gym Kingston
The Gym Leeds
The Gym Leicester
The Gym Liverpool
The Gym Manchester
The Gym Nottingham
The Gym Plymouth
The Gym Southampton
The Gym Vauxhall
The Gym West Hampstead

The Gym Group Liverpool

The Gym Group - Vauxhall Club London

The Secrets to Real High Intensity Gym Training Bodybuilding up YOUR Muscles!

2011-01-18T16:27:00.000-08:00

There are a multitude of roadblocks which stand between bodybuilders and their goal--muscular hypertrophy. Among them are a lack of proper nutrition, insufficient recovery, and poor training intensity. The latter of which is usually the last area an athlete considers to be his or her shortcoming; however, poor intensity is a major reason why weight-training athletes experience little or no progress. It is not welcome news to the average lifter, but it is simply the truth; 9 out of 10 people who take up weightlifting don't have what it takes to push their bodies to the point where it will respond and adapt with muscle growth.

Most athletes who are attempting to build a massive, muscular physique claim they are hard-core bodybuilders. Numerous other weightlifters call themselves hard core either because they workout five days a week or because they perform the "advanced" workouts featured in the popular muscle mags. The truth is, hard core has nothing to do with how often you work out, how many sets you do, or if you can do Lee Haney's back workout three days a week. Hard core is all about intensity, and intensity is an elusive quality.

A BASIC OVERVIEW

WHY IS INTENSITY SO IMPORTANT? To understand this principle, let's examine the theory behind muscular hypertrophy. Training with weights is meant to put a great enough demand upon muscle that they have no choice but to become larger and stronger in order to survive. Effective weight training involves overloading and progressive resistance. Overload indicates that unless the muscle is forced to do more than it is used to, it will not receive a stimulus to grow. Progressive resistance involves handling a greater level of intensity each workout. This is often accomplished by adding weight to an exercise or additional repetitions. These are the two aspects that make up training intensity.

When an athlete trains with the same weight and rep scheme over and over again, this does not subject the muscles to any stress that they are not accustomed to. Even though the exercises might result in a great pump and soreness the next day, these workouts are not the type that induce growth and should be regarded as maintenance training at best.

Consider the body's homeostatic nature. It wants very much to stay the same. The body maintains a consistent temperature, metabolic rate, and pH level. Virtually all hormone and enzymatic activities are regulated so that they stay the same. The body also attempts to maintain this homeostatic environment by limiting the level of skeletal muscle in the body. This homeostatic nature is not easily overcome; thus convincing the body that it needs more muscle is not as easy as most "experts" would have you believe. The fact is, giving the body the signal it needs to increase anabolism or muscle growth is not pleasant. This type of weight training is brutal and painful, but there is no doubt that it is rewarding.

A LITTLE PHYSIOLOGY

For weight training to create muscle hypertrophy, it must be fierce and earnest. The intensity of the weight-training session must be so great that the skeletal muscle tissue is damaged to the point where actual microscopic tears result. Skeletal muscle tissue is made of microscopic elongated cylindrical cells called muscle fibers or myofibers. These fibers lie parallel to each other. In each myofiber, there are a number of structures that control the function of that cell. Some of the more important structures are called myofibrils which play a key role in contracting the cell. Myofibrils are made up of two kinds of even smaller structures called myofilaments. There are thin myofilaments (actin) and thick myofilaments (myosin). It is the interaction of actin and myosin that allow a muscle to contract. These two contractile proteins slide together as the muscle contracts, and they separate when a muscle relaxes. When a muscle increases in size, it is actually caused by an increase in the diameter of actin and myosin owing to the production of more myofibrils and nutrients (glycogen and triglycerides) and energy supplying molecules (ATP and Creatine Phosphate). The larger the actin and myosin fibers, the more forceful the contractions. There has been some discussion that an increase in muscle size is due to longitudinal splitting of muscle fibers, followed by hypertrophy. However, it is generally felt that the number of muscle fibers does not increase after birth. Muscular hypertrophy in children is influenced by Human Growth Hormone and testosterone.

A mature person must apply a stimulus for muscular hypertrophy to occur, unlike naturally growing children. By mature, I mean past the age of 18 when the body usually reaches its natural growth potential.

There are different types of muscle fibers that react differently to exercise. Knowing which ones do what can aid in effective weight training. Skeletal muscle fibers contract with different velocities depending upon their availability of ATP. Faster contracting fibers have greater ability to split ATP. These fibers are commonly known as Type II-B. These muscle fibers are the "big boys." The Type II-B fibers are fast twitch and have a low concentration of myoglobin which makes them white. They contain large amounts of glycogen and are geared to produce ATP by anaerobic (without air) metabolism. They fatigue quickly but provide very fast and forceful contractions when they are called upon. These fibers are only given a signal to fire if a maximum muscle contraction is required. Type II-B fibers react to stress (weight training) by developing larger actin and myosin myofilaments. If you want bigger muscles, you are going to have to stimulate these fibers to their fullest.

A second kind of muscle is Type I. These fibers, slow twitch, contain large amounts of myoglobin, a reddish pigment similar to hemoglobin in blood. Thus Type I fibers are a reddish color. These fibers are very resistant to fatigue but contract slowly. They work aerobically (with oxygen) and perform when a weak contraction is needed. Generally, Type I fibers are for endurance exercise, and they respond to exercise by becoming more metabolically efficient, not larger.

There is a third class of muscle fibers known at Type II-A which are often called intermediate fibers. Type II-A are fast twitch but contain high amounts of myoglobin, so they are red. They do not produce strong contractions and have minimal capacity for hypertrophy. They are found in small amounts in the body and adapt by becoming more metabolically efficient.

"It is important to have at least some grasp of muscle physiology to comprehend the intense weight-training theory."

By examining the information above, we can already see why weight training that is performed with moderate to low intensity does not result in muscular hypertrophy. The main reason for this is that the muscle fibers which are capable of becoming larger are not even being worked in some lifters' programs.

Usually, skeletal muscle is made up of about half slow twitch and half fast twitch. Occasionally, someone will have an abundance of one type. World-class marathon runners can have up to 70% slow twitch; a world-class sprinter, i.e. Ben Johnson, could have up to 80% fast-twitch fiber. (Consider the strength potential of fast-twitch fiber as Ben Johnson was known to do full squats with 600 pounds for reps and bench over 400 pounds for reps.) The amount of these fibers a person has is determined genetically and can be revealed in a muscle biopsy. Although the two fast-twitch fibers can transform between A and B, slow twitch cannot become fast twitch and vice versa.

When the brain sends a signal for a muscle to contract, it enacts just enough fibers to get the job done. When a muscle fiber is fired up, it contracts 100%. This is known as the all-or-none principle. There is no contraction less than 100%. There is a variance in the number of muscle fibers that get called upon to work. If you are just curling a five pound weight, your brain will only signal enough fibers to complete the job. If you are curling a 20 pound weight, all available muscle fibers will be called upon to lift the weight. Type II-B are the last ones to be called in; thus, it takes a maximum weight to bring them into action. If the weight being lifted is moderately heavy, Type II-B fibers will be stimulated, but they will take turns contracting. This is due to an action called asynchronous motor unit summation (AMS). If a maximum weight is being lifted, all the muscle fibers will fire simultaneously. In this instance, muscle fatigue sets in quickly, usually in less than five reps. In AMS, the muscle usually gives out in less than ten reps.

By using these basic facts of physiology, we can understand more about the intense weight-training theory. Since the purpose of the hard-core bodybuilder is to gain power and mass, attacking the Type II-B fibers in indicated. We know that these fibers are used when heavy weights are lifted in a fast manner. The heavier the weight, the more fibers get involved. Now think for a moment what the key aspect of intensity called overload truly means...overload means that you must lift a weight that is heavy enough to first stimulate Type II-B fibers. If you are not lifting a maximum weight or are using a lot of machine type exercise, there is a chance that Type II-B fibers are not even being significantly activated. Not only must the weight be heavy enough to stimulate these Type II-B fibers, but the weight must be heavy enough to activate all of them. Remember AMS as discussed above--if the weight is fairly heavy but not a maximum, these Type II-B fibers will take turns contracting. This is not overload. This is simply physiology in action as the muscles are performing their designated tasks and are not being overloaded. A true muscle overload will not occur while AMS is taking place. There is a type of muscle fiber overload that can occur toward the last few reps if AMS is occurring and the lifter trains until failure. Yet this type of overload only effects a small number of muscle fibers. True overload is seen when the muscle is hit with heavy, fast, intense weight-resistant exercise.

"Lifters who train in a haphazard, unenthusiastic style are very likely not even stimulating the type of muscle fibers which have a potential to grow."

These lifters are, at best, slightly stimulating the Type II-B fibers but are not coming close to overloading them or forcing them to grow. There is no magical number of repetitions that maximally stimulates Type II-B fibers. Generally, ten repetitions or less is best, but there are extenuating circumstances which may see an intense set go up to 12 and even 15 repetitions. The legs can be worked with an occasional heavy set of 20 repetitions because they are so muscular. More often than not, the Type II-B fibers will either suffer fatigue by the eighth repetition and on occasion, only three repetitions will do it. The key is not so much the number of repetitions or sets but rather in the fierceness and enthusiasm with which the repetitions are performed.

Overload occurs when all Type II-B fibers are stimulated simultaneously over and over again with each repetition, until they are all ready to quit. Then, somehow, someway, the lifter pushes those fibers beyond muscle fatigue to the point at which these muscle have never been before. It is imperative to comprehend this. Overload does not occur simultaneous to muscle fatigue. Muscle fatigue is the failure of the muscle to perform because it runs out of its fuel, ATP.

Most lifters pick up a weight, count to eight or ten repetitions, and set the weight down. This is not effective weight training. Counting reps and following a certain set pattern can be a bad habit and leads to stagnant training. Perhaps on occasion you have trained past the certain eight or ten reps and pushed your muscles to the point at which you could not lift the weight another time. That is training to failure and is not synonymous with intensity. Overload usually occurs after you have perceived muscle failure. The lifter who can go beyond that point and push that muscle to a point where it has not been before is the one who will stimulate growth. The body will have no choice but to adapt to survive. As indicated earlier, the body does not want to do this. The body wants to stay the same. The mind has got to push the body past what it is capable of, and this creates weight-training intensity. What the popular muscle mags and training courses don't want you to know is that your chances of ever achieving this level are not good. The top muscle mags like to portray bodybuilding as a sport for everyone. That is pretty much propaganda--the truth is that most lifter don't have the discipline, drive, nor the skill to train intensely. Thus most athletes find themselves making no gains in size or strength, and they continually search for that elusive aspect that is holding up their program. When you think about it, it is much easier to search for some magic pill, powder, or injection than it is to accept that you haven't been training intensely enough to stimulate muscle growth.

INTENSITY IS A SKILL

Forget everything you thought you knew about intensity and get ready to learn what it really means. Intense weight training is not something you just walk into the gym and automatically know how to do. It is a skill and thus requires practice, discipline, and enthusiasm. There are a number of methods which you can use to develop this skill to train intensely. By practicing these skills, you will immediately notice an increase in intensity but to truly reach your potential and develop your skills to the fullest, you must continue to practice these methods for months and months.

The first thing you need to do is accept the fact that your lack of weight-training intensity has limited your progress and will continue to do so unless you can master this skill. Second, you must be ready to experience pain. Intense weight training involves pain; it's that simple. Although some athletes claim you get used to the pain, physiologically that just isn't possible. The body does adapt to many senses, that is, if you are listening to especially loud music, your sense of hearing will adapt and over a period of minutes, the music does not seem as loud. Your vision adapts; when you walk out into a bright sunlight, it seems especially blinding, but in a matter of seconds, the light does not seem to be as bright. Quite literally, all sensations go through some level of adaptation with the exclusion of one, pain. Nerve receptors do not downgrade their perception of pain. I believe this dispels the theory that these workouts are only painful for a little while. The fact is, they hurt the first time you do them; they hurt the 100th time you do them--they are supposed to. After getting in the proper mind set for intense weight training, it is time to go practice some skills.

"Squatting is by far the best overall body exercise you could possibly perform; it is also difficult and excruciating."

The premier exercise for developing the skills to train intensely is the squat. Squatting is by far the best overall body exercise you could possibly perform; it is also difficult and excruciating. Your first assignment for increasing your overall training intensity is to take your perceived 10 rep maximum in the squat and do it 20 times. That's right, 20 times. For example, if during your normal workout you were accustomed to completing a tough set of squats with 275 pounds for 10 reps, your assignment is to do 275 pounds for 20 repetitions. Believe me, if you've completed 10 reps at this weight before, you have the ability to complete 20. Whether you can realize that ability or not, really determines if you can train with the type of intensity it takes to grow.

To perform this intense set of squats, you should first thoroughly warm up by doing such exercises as the stationary bike, stretching and at least two sets of 10 to 15 repetitions with a light weight. Once your heart rate is over 110 beats per minute and you are breathing heavily, your muscles are warm and your tendons are loosened up, it is time to step under the weight. Load the bar with your perceived 10 rep maximum and get ready to inflict some pain. Nothing complicated about it, just take the bar off the rack, squat to a position where the top of your thighs are parallel to the floor and drive it back up. Take it one rep at a time, thoroughly breathing in and out between repetitions as if each were a one rep maximum. Once you get to the 10th rep, you will naturally want to give up because that is what you have conditioned yourself to do in all your other workouts. Once you start your 11th repetition, you can have confidence that you are leaving most all weightlifters behind you. You are taking a step in a direction you have wanted since you began your weightlifting efforts. You are conditioning yourself to train intensely and develop your skills so that you can be a real bodybuilder. Perform the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th rep one at a time and breath out at least five times at the top of each rep. If you make it to the 16th repetition, you can be sure that you are on your way to a new level of weightlifting. By this point, your breathing is uncontrollably heavy; you will likely have tunnel vision and may not even be able to hear if your training partner is encouraging you to continue. By the time you go down and drive out that 17th repetition, you realize that the first 16 reps were merely a prelude for overload. The 17th, 18th, and 19th repetitions may take up to 10 seconds each as you clear your lungs completely 5 to 10 times before you can prepare yourself to bend down again and drive up that weight. By the time you are ready to do the 20th repetition, you will likely be relying solely on the power of your mind as every muscle in your body has reached fatigue several reps ago. How strong is your mind? Get tough, get mean, and discover intensity as you bend down for that 20th rep and drive it back up with a scream. As you struggle to put the squat bar back on the rack, your sense of victory may be overshadowed by fatigue and mental exhaustion.

At this point, it is prudent to lie down on a bench and engage in deep breathing for at least 3 or 4 minutes. It is not uncommon to pass out, vomit, be unable to walk, and/or have ringing in your ears. This will all subside in a matter of minutes at which point you are likely to notice many of the others in the gym staring at you like you're crazy. That is what you want them to think; you are crazy enough to push yourself to the point where your muscle will grow.

"Get tough, get mean, and discover intensity as you bend down for that 20th rep and drive it back up with a scream."

This one intense set of squats is your only set on that exercise for this stage of your skill development. It would be impossible to execute another set that was at anywhere near that level of intensity and since you are attempting to break the habit and conditioning of performing sets of less than 100% overload, do not do anymore sets of the squat at this point. By doing this intense 20 repetitions of the squat, you will have a very clear idea of what we mean by overload and intensity.

Of the few athletes who do train in this manner, the majority of them take advantage of stimulants like Dymetadrine 25, Pep-Back (a caffeine supplement), Inosine, and a lactic acid buffer like Phos Fuel. Another common practice is to use a high-carbohydrate pre-workout drink and a recovery drink like Cytomax before, during, and after this type of intense workout as they are especially debilitating to the glucose and glycogen levels. Your body will be overwhelmed by the demand on its glucose and glycogen reserves once you take your training to this level.

For the next six weeks, your intensity assignment is to perform just one set of this 20 rep squat exercise two times a week in place of your usual squat sets. Each time you perform the exercise, add additional weight. This fulfills the progressive requirement of intensity. Even if it is only five pounds, it still increases the intensity level by a small percentage. If you do not have what it takes to perform this intensely, accept the fact that you are destined to be a recreational weight lifter. The recreational weight lifter still incurs many advantages that bodybuilding offers; however, massive muscle development is not one of them.

Next issue we will continue our series on developing the skills to train with true intensity, and we'll show you how to apply this newly learned intensity on your sets of 20 to sets of as few as 6 reps. We'll also show you how to apply this skill to training other body parts.

Vitamins over hyped but can still be needed for gym training and healthy fitness?

2011-01-18T16:10:00.000-08:00

some say vitamins are not necessary if the diet is very good and healthy, while this is true there can still be a need for some vitamin supplementation.

For instance, you may, to the best of your knowledge, be doing everything right. You may know all there is to know about training, how much work your muscles can take without being overtrained, and be the most supremely dedicated individual on earth. However, if you don't eat enough of the right nutrients, you're not going to get your muscles to grow much at all. The best you might be able to do is alter your fat to muscle ratio.

There are approximately 60 different minerals in the body, and roughly 22 are essential, meaning we need to get them through our diet. They are essential to a variety of basic processes in the body. Vitamins differ from minerals in that they're organic, meaning they contain carbon. Most scientists think that there are 13 vitamins essential to human life. Each of them carry out specific functions in the body, and when deficiencies arise, the body does not function properly.

That's where vitamin supplementation comes in. The trouble is, vitamin and mineral tablets are expensive, and the industry often perpetuates myths that try to justify their high costs. This article will dispel some of these myths.

First, let's talk about how and where vitamin tablets come from and how some companies determine what vitamins and minerals should go into their mixtures. According to the Nutrition Action Healthletter, all supplement makers buy most of their vitamins and minerals from the same group of multinational manufacturers. These companies have huge vats of powdered nutrients waiting to be shoveled into shipping containers upon order. Each supplement company just determines how much of each different compound they want to include in their own product.

We telephoned the manufacturer of one of the most widely advertised vitamin formulas for bodybuilders, and they explained, in a voice that sounded oddly mechanical and well rehearsed, "We use formulas based on the current and most reliable available research--that is how we get the amounts for the various nutrients. We also use the highest quality available, and we only use pharmaceutical grade ingredients. We also try to make our products as cost-effective as possible. We always try to pass along any savings we can to the consumer." Oddly enough, this manufacturer's prices for its generic vitamin tablets were among the highest on the market.

When this same company was asked whether they bought their "highest quality possible" products from multinational manufacturers, they quickly responded, "We are not allowed to give out that information." Yeah, and monkeys just might fly out of my butt.

Are there any guidelines or restrictions concerning what manufacturers can put into their products? Not really. Oh, there are a few government restrictions regarding folic acid (too much can mask a vitamin B-12 deficiency), and California monitors vitamin A input (too much can be toxic since this is a fat-soluble vitamin and gets stored up in bodyfat), but otherwise, they can put in just about anything they want.

Many companies can't even explain why certain nutrients are dumped into their mixtures. According to the Nutrition Action Healthletter, the Shaklee company couldn't explain why their Vita-Lea pills contained certain amounts of vitamins, other than to explain that that's how their company founder, a chiropractor, formulated the pills decades ago. However, Shaklee's company line is that their supplements are "based on clear scientific evidence rather than the fad of the moment," which is essentially what the bodybuilding supplement-manufacturer we called said.

Other companies dictate what goes into their products by economics. If something's cheap, they liberally add it to their pills. If something's expensive, they reduce the amount correspondingly or exclude it altogether. Take a look at the label of a typical vitamin tablet. Does there seem to be a lot of B-vitamins in it? Well, you guessed it. Most of the B-vitamins are cheap.

Just keeping up with the Joneses is another factor that determines the content of vitamin tablets. If company A makes some claim for a particular vitamin and dumps it into their product, most likely company B will, too.

By now, you must be asking yourself how it is that supplement manufacturers are able to get away with this. Well, vitamins are considered foodstuffs by the FDA and, consequently, aren't regulated as drugs are. A supplement manufacturer has no responsibility to prove any therapeutic benefits from any ingredient it sells. Here are a couple of the myths that have been dreamed up to rip you off:

MYTH 1: NATURAL VITAMINS ARE BETTER THAN LABORATORY VITAMINS

A vitamin is a vitamin is a vitamin. If you were to give a laboratory two samples of vitamin C, one of which was synthesized in the lab, and the other of which was derived from rose hips, the laboratory could not tell the difference. Each of the molecules would have the exact same configuration of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms. There are those, however, that believe that "naturally occurring" vitamin C tablets are better because they contain bioflavonoids, anti-oxidants that improve the absorption rate of vitamin C. That might be true, but the average diet contains plenty of bioflavonoids in it, making any additional bioflavonoid supplementation unnecessary.

If the companies can get you to believe that natural vitamins are better for you, they can then justify the high cost by saying, "It's a far more expensive process to extract vitamin C from thousands of rose hips than it is to make it in the lab."

Even if natural vitamins were better for you, the companies still try to rip you off because most "natural" vitamins are merely synthetic vitamins that have been mixed with plant extracts or small amounts of the so-called "natural" vitamins.

The only exception to this rule might be vitamin E. Some researchers believe that natural vitamin E might be more readily utilized than synthetic vitamin E. To find it, ignore labels that advertise "natural vitamin E." Instead, look for the listing "d-alphatocopherol" as the only vitamin E listed.

MYTH 2: NAME BRAND VITAMINS ARE BETTER THAN STORE BRANDS

According to the Nutrition Action Healthletter, Safeway's Central-Vites contain exactly the same amount of vitamins and minerals as Centrum but cost much less than the name brand. The newsletter also found that companies like K-Mart and Wal-Mart are real sticklers for quality and that their vitamin products rate as high as some of the most expensive brands. So why do people continue to spend more on name brands? Probably because they have the mistaken assumption that the name brands are better.

If you're willing to accept that quality doesn't have to come in a name-brand wrapper, consider buying your vitamins from large national retailers or stores with a reputation for quality in general.

Granted, there are several reputable companies out there who do their homework. According to noted nutrition specialist Dr. Scott Connelly, the proper way to gauge the needs for human nutrition involves growing human leukocytes in nutrient mixtures that contain varying amounts of vitamins and minerals. This has been done by several reputable researchers, and the results have been incorporated in various quality vitamin supplements.

This article is not all-inclusive, by any stretch of the imagination. There are seemingly countless nutrients and micronutrient available, the exact human needs of which have yet to be determined. If you want to supplement your diet with vitamins and minerals, buy pills that seem fairly complete and follow the above guidelines.

Total Muscle Gym Machines like the Skywalker 4 best aerobic workouts

2011-01-16T12:50:00.000-08:00

When I first started working out, it was at a gym, and I started by doing 20 minutes on a stationary bicycle. This only used a few of the muscles in my legs. It took a lot of effort to get my system worked up enough to pass the breathing test. It was tough to get through the 20 minutes, and yet I was just barely hitting my target heart rate (I was actually measuring my heart rate and it was barely high enough to count as aerobic).

Then I learned about how exercise works, and that the more muscles you use while exercising, the easier it is to reach your target heart rate. The reason for this should be obvious: more working, moving muscles demand more sugar and fat from your body, and creates a more intense systemic response for less apparent effort.

I switched to another type of machine at the gym (called a "skywalker," I won't try to describe it here) that worked not only the legs but also the arms and chest muscles. It seemed like I was using less effort, yet my heart rate was well into my training zone. I could easily bring my heart rate up past the upper limit of my training zone on this new machine if I wanted to. I only tried this once; it would be overtraining to do that for any length of time. The point is, I couldn't have done that on the stationary cycle.

On the cycle, my legs would suffer from lactic acid burn long before I could pump them hard enough to bring my heart rate to the upper limit of my training zone. It's easier to exercise hard on one of these "total body machines." This is also why cross-country skiing is such a good aerobic exercise.

One machine I have at home is a rider-type machine called the "Cardio Fit." It was rated a best buy in Consumer Reports. I love it. It gives me a great workout that uses most of the muscles in my body. It's cheaper than the Health Rider, and it gives the same kind of workout. To top it all off, it has adjustable intensity.

I recommend it. It's the first exercise machine I've ever tried that isn't awkward, hard to use, or just plain silly. I've been using it for months now, and it's some of the best money I've ever spent. After all this time, it's remained easy to use.

Avoid Overtraining at the Gym and Why It Is Bad

2011-01-16T12:48:00.001-08:00

It is possible to exercise too intensively, too often, and/or too long. The main drawback of overtraining like this is that your body begins to lose some of its muscle mass. Since it is muscle that burns the fat in your body, the more of it you've got, the better off you are. The less of it you've got, the worse off you'll be. Training correctly builds this muscle mass. Overtraining will cause you to lose it.

If you find yourself getting more and more tired after each workout, you're overtraining, and you'll want to reduce the frequency or intensity of your workout. If you are constantly gasping for air during the workout, it is too intense. Just back off a bit. If you can't continue the exercise for 12 to 15 minutes, it's too intense. If you get through the 15 minutes and you immediately drop to the floor to recover, it's still too intense. You should be able to continue comfortably to 20 or even 30 minutes if you wanted to.

You'll have to find for yourself what level of intensity and what frequency is right for you. If you choose to exercise more than once a day, give yourself some time to recover fully. As a rule, for example, I try to give myself at least 8 hours between aerobic workouts if I can. I work out for 30 minutes, twice a day, when I can. If you exercise intensely enough, you may need more recovery time than this, maybe up to 24 hours if you're older. Gauge yourself over a period of a week or so and adjust these factors until you're comfortable with them.

Training Your Body to Burn More Fat

2011-01-16T12:43:00.000-08:00

The one thing that trains your body to burn more fat is exercise. You can't take enzyme pills, for example, to make your body burn fat. Sure, it's enzymes that do all the work inside your muscles, but these enzymes must be produced within the cell walls of the muscle cells, and cannot be used if ingested - they are too big to pass through the cell walls. You must train your body to make its own fat-burning enzymes.

A continuous program of daily aerobic exercise is the most efficient way to train your body to burn fat. By "continuous," I mean that it must be something that you do as part of your daily routine - at least 4 times a week, and that's a bare minimum. You need to give your body a message: "Hey, wake up, I'm changing my lifestyle, and you have to adapt!" If your exercising is on-again, off-again, a few days here, a few days there, your body will not get the message. Whether you take one day off a week or not is up to you, but I don't see why you can't exercise every day, even twice every day if your body is up to it. Just be careful to watch for signs of overtraining and slow down if you see them.

By "aerobic," I mean exercise that uses oxygen. I won't get into the extremely technical chemical processes that take place inside the body during exercise. If you want that kind of information, Covert Bailey's exercise books have it. Basically, though, aerobic exercise has the following qualities:

It is non-stop. If you do 10 minutes of aerobic exercise, take a break, and then do 10 more minutes, you have not done 20 minutes of aerobic exercise. Similarly, if you get off the treadmill to answer the phone, you've just broken your exercise. As a rule, I try not to stop for more than 10 seconds or so, and I only do that to check my heart rate. Turn off the phone, get away from distractions.

It involves fast, repetitive use of large muscle groups. Running is therefore aerobic. So is swimming, if it is vigorous enough (notice that I said "fast"). Generally it will be the same motion repeated over and over. The only exception I can think of is aerobic dancing or "jazzercize" or whatever you call that, and even there you're repeating one single exercise numerous times before moving on to the next one. Also, large muscles must be involved, particularly those in the upper legs. It takes a lot of muscle to make your heart rate go up, make you breathe heavily (but not gasping for air - that's too much!), and make your body "get the message." Bending one arm up and down, for example, is not an aerobic exercise. It will not raise your heart rate because it does not involve enough muscle mass. Weight lifting is not aerobic, even though it may involve the large muscles. Usually, during weight lifting, there are breaks beween exercises, and you're not always using large muscle groups all the time.

Aerobic exercise brings your entire system up to a higher level of activity. During true aerobic exercise, the muscles you're moving aren't the only parts of your body that get worked up. Your heart rate climbs, you sweat, and you breathe heavily. I'll discuss in a minute how you can tell if you're reaching the right level, and whether you're overdoing it. But this level must be reached, or the exercise (while still better than nothing) is not nearly as efficient as it could be.

It lasts at least 15 minutes. Exercising less is not bad per se, but not nearly as good as a 15 minute (or more) workout. From what I've been able to gather from scientific research, 12 to 15 minutes seems to be a magic threshold above which you get much more benefit from exercise. Don't foget that this 12 to 15 minutes does not include warm-up time, the time it takes for your heart rate to reach its target level.

the reason for going to the gym and exercising lose fat?

2011-01-16T12:22:00.000-08:00

Why do you want to get fit? Is it to lose fat? Is it to feel better? What kind of goals do you have?

I'm going to assume that, for the most part, you want to get fit to lose fat. This is because I'm pretty sure that most people who aren't exercising yet, would like to, and are reading this right now are in the same situation I was in when I first started: overweight, wanting to exercise, but not knowing where to begin. Nevertheless, no matter what your goals are, the benefits will be the same: you'll lose fat if you're overfat, you'll feel better about yourself and about life in general, and you'll probably live longer, too, and avoid a host of medical problems later on.

So, if your main goal is losing fat, the one thing to keep in mind is this:

The purpose of exercise is to make your body burn fat more efficiently.
The purpose of exercise is not just to burn excess calories. Sure, this happens when you exercise, but have you ever read about how few calories are burned during exercise? It would take you days of exercise to make up for a Big Mac, large fries, and a thick chocolate shake. So, if this is true, how can anyone possibly hope to exercise enough to actually lose weight? The secret is that your body burns more calories when you're not exercising. How many calories it burns during these periods of rest depends on how fit you are. The purpose of exercise, then, is to train your body to burn more fat, not only when you're exercising, but even when you're not.

are american's not getting to the gym enough?

2011-01-16T06:13:00.000-08:00

More than 60 percent of American adults do not get the recommended amount of physical activity. In fact, 25 percent are not active at all. And, nearly half of all American youths 12-21 years of age are not vigorously active on a regular basis. Moreover, physical activity declines during adolescence.

Eating less and eating sensibly is only one half of the fitness balancing act; physical activity is the other - very important - half of the equation. There is so much that exercise does:

increases your self-esteem
improves mood
boosts energy
strengthens heart
strengthens muscles
burns calories
improves cholesterol levels
relieves stress
lowers risk of heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes
prevents bone loss
decreases risk of some cancers

There is no such thing as a good excuse for not exercising! Just remember - start slowly - as with dieting - and set reasonable goals. Visit your physician to discuss your plans. Begin making small changes in the way you approach everyday activities that will get you moving. The first step - start thinking MOVEMENT! Take the stairs when possible, get off the bus or subway a few stops earlier and walk, get up to change the channel on your TV manually.

Just get your body moving! If you are beginning an exercise program, remember walking is both safe and affordable. Start with only 5 minutes a day. Work up to 10 minutes after a week or two and add 5 more minutes at biweekly intervals after that.

the best free gym techniques to get best results from gym training and exercise how to train properly to build muscle

2011-01-14T12:23:00.000-08:00

Why do people spend money on gym memberships and equipment when they exercise wrong and get little, if any, results? Good question and one for which I have no answer. The truth is, very few people work out with maximum effectiveness. I believe learning how to feel an exercise, I mean really getting into each rep and making those reps pump the muscle and make it burn, is the key. Whether you're short or tall, fat or thin, young or old, if you can feel an exercise, it's going to work!
Did you ever notice how differently you feel an exercise just by changing the position of your hands, feet or elbows? If you haven't experimented with this, it's time you did! Slight variations or nuances force your body to use different muscle fibers and neural pathways, working your muscles at different angles, thereby giving you better results. Let's look at some simple exercise nuances that you can use right now that can make a huge difference in your training. Remember, form is everything.

The Grip

Take a wide grip on a barbell and do an incline press. Where do you feel it? Outer chest. Move your hands closer together and you'll feel it more in the inner chest and triceps. Same exercise, yet two very different ways of hitting the same muscle.

Use a wide grip on chin-ups and you'll feel more upper lat and teres; closer grip with the elbows moving downward from the front of the body hits more lower lat.

Experiment with various positions on every grip-involved exercise you do and you'll soon be turning your weaknesses into strengths.

Do a barbell curl on a steep-sided (90-degree) preacher bench and you'll feel the stress in the upper biceps. Do that same curl on the opposite side of the bench (at a 45-degree angle) and you'll feel it in the lower biceps.

Legs are a terrific bodypart for exercises using different angles. Do a 30-degree leg press and you'll feel it in your lower quad; do one at 45 degrees or higher and you'll feel the pressure in the upper quads and hamstrings.

Lower the foot platform on the hack squat and you'll feel the stress in your upper quad. Raise the platform and the emphasis shifts to the lower quad area just above the knee. And don't forget leg extensions. The knees-angled-down position works the lower quads and inner vastus. The knees-angled-up position works the upper quad.

The Elbow

Just moving your elbow up or down, into the body or away, can also make a big difference. Most bodybuilders do the triceps dumbbell kickback with their upper arm in line with their upper torso. But to really make the triceps scream, keep the upper arm close to the body and raise the upper arm and elbow up and above the upper torso. The higher you raise it, the harder it gets. Be sure to lock the arm out at the top of the movement.

Another great triceps exercise is the pressdown. Here's a trick you can use to feel the same exercise, with the same hand grip, in different parts of the triceps, simply by moving your elbows.

Take a fairly close grip - 6-8 inches apart - on a straight bar. With elbows close to your body, do a set of 10-12 reps of pressdowns. Now, keeping the same grip, move your elbows out and away from your body, almost in a direct line with your upper torso. Be sure to lock your arms out at the bottom of the movement. Where do you feel each movement? So simple, yet so effective.

And let's not forget the seated dumbbell curl. Elbows in, elbows out, elbows back or elbows forward hits the same biceps in many different ways. Experiment and find which ones make your biceps beg for mercy the most!

Simply by moving your hands, you can feel the same exercise in many different ways. Take for example . . .

The barbell curl. After you've taken a wide grip, place your elbows close to your body. As you curl the weight up, you should feel the stress on the outer biceps. Lower the bar and move your hands close together - 4-6 inches apart. Now the stress is placed on the inner biceps. Try the seated cable row for back. Many bodybuilders use a stirrup bar that places the hands close together. Try using a straight lat pull-down bar. On one set, keep your hands spaced wide.

If you keep your elbows out away from your body, you should feel the movement more toward the center of your back. For the next set, bring your hands close together - 6-8 inches apart - and pull with your elbows in close to your sides. You should now feel it in the outer lats. And don't forget the old tried-'n'-true method of hand pronation - turning the palms down - when doing triceps pressdowns. Use a rope instead of a bar. Keep your elbows close to your sides. At the bottom of the movement, pronate your hands and lock your arms out and hold the peak contraction for 1-2 seconds. Really feel the triceps burn. Just those few inches of hand pronation can make a big difference!

You've got to have a lot of sole to do this. You change foot position three ways to hit the calf and thigh muscles differently.

In the standing calf raise, pointing your feet straight will work the overall calf. In my case, turning my feet out seems to hit my inner calves more, while turning them inward hits my outer calves.

Let's move to the hack squat machine. To minimize stress on the knees, place your feet high up on the foot platform. Keep your heels together and turn your feet outward. You've now directed the emphasis to the inner thigh. By keeping your feet and legs together and pointed straight, you'll direct the emphasis to the outer thigh - an excellent way to develop a fabulous quad sweep.

As you probably know, squatting is one of the best leg exercises. Yet, some beginners and intermediates may find some of the squat variations difficult. One such variation involves placing the legs almost in a direct line with the upper torso, feet wider than shoulder width and turned outward. The knees must travel in a direct line over the middle toes. Obviously, the weight used in this exercise must be fairly light to minimize injury and maintain ideal form. One way to do this exercise correctly is with a Smith machine. Because the bar travels in a fixed position, you can experiment to find the optimal leg position without having to worry about stabilizing the upper body.

Many call this a ballet squat. For hitting the inner thigh, upper-outer thigh and glutes, this exercise is a killer! Go for 12-20 reps.

patellar tracking dysfunction (PTD) chondromalacia patellae treatment knee

2011-01-14T09:01:00.000-08:00

Snap, crackle, pop! If this is the sound your knee makes when you bend or straighten it, you probably have a common condition known as patellar tracking dysfunction (PTD). As a hard-training bodybuilder, you can save yourself pain and disability by understanding this condition.

PTD used to be known as chondromalacia patellae, which means softening of the cartilage on the underside of the patella (kneecap). Since this isn't really what happens, the condition was renamed to describe it more accurately. PTD simply means that the patella doesn't move or "track" straight when the knee is flexed or extended.

PTD usually begins with an occasional pain under the kneecap, accompanied by a grating sound called crepitus. The pain is usually worse while running, squatting, walking downstairs and performing other similar knee movements. The knee usually becomes stiff after you remain seated for a few hours, and the pain is often accompanied by inflammation and swelling. All symptoms tend to increase with knee use, and the condition typically worsens with time.

Common Therapies

The most common treatments attempt to realign the patella by using tape to pull it inward or by developing the vastus medialis muscle (the teardrop-shaped muscle that runs from midway down the inside of the thigh to just above the knee). Both techniques may realign the patella to some degree, but can also force it closer to the joint and higher than normal.

This new alignment may be a problem. (This is one argument against placing knee wraps directly around the kneecaps while squatting.) Neither treatment removes the cause of the problem nor realigns the patella to its normal position. They may slow the progression of the problem, but the patient usually ends up seeing an orthopedic surgeon.

Arthroscopic surgery can usually eliminate the pain very quickly. The surgery consists of shaving down the patella cartilage to remove any abnormal grooves created by the misalignment. Some surgeons also perform a "lateral patellar release" to realign the patella so that it will track properly and create no new cartilage damage. Like the other therapies, this helps, but is usually only enough to slow the accumulation of new cartilage damage. If you're an active person, you may face another surgery in 3-5 years.

If the vastus lateralis muscle on the outer front of the thigh is excessively tight, the misalignment most commonly found in PTD is created. This upward pull on its outside edge makes the right patella rotate clockwise and the left one rotate counterclockwise, causing improper tracking and ultimately cartilage damage.

The question remains, "Why is the muscle too tight?" I believe fibrotic adhesions are the cause. When a muscle is exposed to chronic overstress or trauma, the body often heals the muscle with fibrotic adhesions.

These adhesions act like scar tissue that binds some of the muscle fibers together, reducing the muscle's normal length. When a muscle reaches a certain degree of tightness, it can pull the bone to which it's attached out of its normal alignment. This can occur with nearly every bone in the body.

Fortunately, these adhesions can be eliminated. If they're removed correctly, the muscle can return to its original length and the patella will move back into proper alignment and track normally. If pain persists, it could be because a large amount of cartilage damage exists, and surgery may still be required to repair it. Because the cause has been removed, however, no new cartilage damage will occur.

Self-Treatment

The following treatment is a very small portion of the therapy I've developed called Precision Muscle-Balancing TechnologyTM. It's simple and has resolved most cases of PTD I have treated. It creates a lateral patellar release effect similar to the surgery but can provide total realignment.

Sit on a bed or sofa so that your thigh is supported and your knee won't hyperextend. Extend your leg and knee.

To treat your right knee, hold a marker, a roll of dimes or a wooden dowel of similar size in your right fist. (To treat your left knee, use your left fist.) The flat surface formed by the second joint of your fingers will be your tool.
Apply moisturizing lotion to the lower half of your vastus lateralis muscle.

Place your free hand on the back of your fist to apply some pressure and stroke downward on the muscle at a moderate speed. Begin about 6-8 inches above your knee and continue all the way to the top of your patella.

Use enough pressure to cause a slight discomfort, but avoid using excessive force. Reduce the pressure as you move closer to the kneecap. Some of the pain will come from the breaking of adhesions.

Treat the muscle for only 2-3 minutes the first time. The muscle may be tender for a few days after each treatment. If your muscle doesn't get very sore, you can increase the treatment time a little. Treat only once every 7-10 days.

Precautions Never treat the muscle for more than five minutes at a time or more often than once a week. Overtreatment could slow your progress, just like overtraining.
Do each treatment when you won't be stressing your quadriceps for 3-4 days. This gives your body time to heal the treated area.

Most people will require only 3-6 treatments to experience significant impact. When the treatment no longer hurts, all the adhesions are gone.

This treatment will eliminate the pain in all but the worst cases of PTD. If you don't experience total relief, you may have considerable cartilage damage. Even if surgery isn't an option, your knee should be much improved and the condition shouldn't worsen. Another reason you may not experience total relief is because of other misalignments in your knee, hip or ankle.

A hip or ankle imbalance could be what created your knee problem in the first place. After you successfully complete the self-treatment program and correct your PTD condition, wait 3-4 months and then repeat the procedure. If the treatment is painful, it means new adhesions may have formed because of other misalignments. Repeating the treatment occasionally will help keep your patella lined up properly and your training free of knee pain.

Chondromalacia Patellae

How to train shoulder muscles to avoid muscle joint injury

2011-01-14T08:45:00.000-08:00

How to train shoulder muscles to avoid muscle joint injury.

How high should you raise your arms when doing front or lateral arm raises? If you're like the majority of bodybuilders and athletes who do these exercises, you'll probably answer, "To the level position," that is, where the arms are parallel to the floor.

The reason for such execution is based on the supposed prevention of shoulder impingement, which is usually characterized by pain in the shoulder when the upper-arm bone (humerus) jams in the shoulder joint and pinches a nerve. However, shoulder impingement can occur only when a malfunction of the muscles or some other problem already exists in the shoulder joint. The mere act of raising your arms from directly up in front of or from the side of the body to a completely overhead position does not by itself cause shoulder impingement.

In fact, if you closely examine the muscle involvement in these exercises, you'll find that moving from the level to the overhead position offers the most productive range of motion. This is the best range of motion for maximum involvement of not only the deltoids, but also the upper- and lower-trapezius muscles and serratus anterior. Stopping at the level position eliminates most of the deltoid involvement and only partially utilizes the trapezius and serratus muscles.

When the muscles that move the scapulae are well-developed, they move and rotate the scapulae in synchronization with arm movement so that the shoulder joint turns and opens up in the direction of the movement. Synchronized rotation, abduction (sliding to the sides of the ribcage) and elevation of the scapulae are crucial in preventing shoulder impingement.

If the muscles aren't sufficiently developed or if you have a problem with the rotation, abduction or elevation of the scapulae, then the chances of shoulder impingement are increased. In such cases, it isn't the exercise that causes shoulder impingement, but a pre-existing problem that's exacerbated by the exercise. A physician should evaluate the condition to determine the cause and a plan to correct it.

Rehabilitation of the joint and its surrounding muscles will most likely be needed. During this period, to allow for full healing, the patient may have to curtail range of motion in the shoulder and possibly eliminate certain exercises. This might mean performing front and lateral raises, but only to the level position. After the joint is healed, which may take 4-12 weeks, you should begin doing full-range arm raises without weights until you can raise your arms with no discomfort. Then begin using very light weights and very gradually (over weeks and months) begin to use heavier weights.

To further substantiate the need for a full range of motion when doing front and lateral arm raises, we can take a look at overhead press exercises. When the overhead press from behind or in front of the neck is executed, the elbows are well below the level of the shoulder in the initial position. Because of this, the arms travel from approximately 30-45 degrees below shoulder level to the 180-degree full overhead position - a range of 135-150 degrees. This is why overhead presses are so effective for development of the deltoids and the other muscles.

Lifting Heavy

Even if prevention of shoulder impingement isn't the main reason for limited-range movements, many bodybuilders and athletes stop at level because of the excessively heavy weights that they use. Very heavy weights, however, aren't needed when doing front or lateral arm raises with extended arms, since a small weight at the end of a long lever (your arm is acting like a lever in this exercise) can be quite heavy. Moving from the level to the directly overhead position involves maximal contraction of the muscles. Using heavy weights that you can handle only up to the level position doesn't produce maximum muscle gains or definition. When using very heavy weights, to move them from thigh height to the level position, you must vigorously contract the muscles and literally swing the weights up so that they ride out and up on their own momentum. If a vigorous swing isn't executed, then you must severely bend the elbow to decrease the effective resistance in order to raise the arms high enough. But with severely bent elbows, you change the positioning of the elbow so that you don't truly isolate the deltoid or the other muscles involved.

Stopping at the level position plays an effective role in total muscle development when you want to work some muscles with greater isolation. For example, when doing lateral arm raises, the supraspinatus does the bulk of the work from 0-90 degrees. In front-arm raises, the upper pectoralis major, together with the coracobrachialis, undergo the strongest contractions to get the arms to the level position. When above level, however, the deltoid and trapezius become the predominant muscles. Thus, doing limited-range arm raises should be included in the repertoire of exercises for bodybuilders and athletes alike.

Strengthening the supraspinatus is extremely important for prevention of shoulder impingement, since this muscle plays a key role in holding the humerus in the shoulder joint. Overdeveloping the latissimus dorsi and lower pectoralis major muscles, however, can depress the arm sufficiently to cause problems in the joint. But when the supraspinatus is strong, it helps counteract the downward pull of the lats and lower pecs.

Rotator Cuff Exercises for Pain Relief / Shoulder Pain Relief

Free Gym Membership Understanding Fitness Websites & Mindi Smith

2011-01-13T17:12:00.000-08:00

Free Gym Membership Understanding Fitness Websites and Mindi Smith.

Here they come. Everyone and their partners are piling on the Internet Fitness Bandwagon. instant on-line fitness. But don't worry about having the same articles which are on your coffee table repeated on-line. Some sites are original.

What the Internet was meant to be and what it may end up being is still not known. One thing though that most can agree upon is the hope that it will be a place of fresh, free, information. But some publications are unfortunately dimming the light on this in some areas.

Many of the monthly fitness magazines are starting to jump onto the Internet with online versions of their magazines. This is aimed at recapturing those who are leaving the medium of printed information for the more up to date versions available on the net as well as preventing current subscribers from going somewhere else.

Will the Internet be the BAIN of those magazines which refuse to enter it's arena because they still see it as a place frequented by, as one particular publisher wrote, people eating chips in their underwear at 2am? If this is their perception of people on the Internet it just may be.

What should you look for? Content.

Issues: Do they have a weekly update with new and informative articles or is it updated once a month or Bi-monthly. Have the same articles been up for months now. Do they have links to other sites to make up for their lack of content.

Visits: Do they have a counter at the bottom of their homepage to see how much traffic they are getting. Have they had only a few hundred hits since they were up.

Interaction: Do you actually get an answer back when you submit e-mail? or is all of their e-mail buttons labeled "COMMENTS"?

Subscriptions: Is it a true online resource or do they use it as a marketing tool to get new subscribers to their magazine? See if there is an offer for you to be a subscriber.

There are lots of good Bodybuilding and fitness websites out there though to find do not get me wrong and it can be fun finding some of the gems, when it comes to fitness orientated websites.

Of course Youtube has some excellent Fitness orientated videos to watch as well, like this one below.

Top Training Tips From Stunning Fitness Model Mindi Smith

"Fitness model, Mindi Smith, has always been very active, first starting in ballet, jazz, tap, and gymnastic classes along with running cross country, track & field, basketball, and volleyball before getting a personal trainer and learning more about health and fitness.

Once turning 20, Mindi decided she needed a change and packed up her things and headed south to Fort Lauderdale, FL, where she applied for her real estate license and began a career working for developers in high-rise residential condominiums throughout the state of Florida. W

hile selling real estate, she also modelled part time and continued building her career in the fitness world. In 2008, she decided to make another big move and packed up yet again and drove across country to Orange County, CA, where she soon became a certified personal trainer, taking part in all the big fitness expos throughout the country, and is now considering competing in the Pro Bikini division within the WBFF World Finals later this year in September.

Mindi's hard work has paid off, and she has landed some great opportunities with features and pictorials in numerous major fitness magazines and websites which have all helped towards establishing her as a premiere glamour and fitness model.

In this first part of the Mindi Smith Exclusive, LA Muscle's Hollywood Extra catches up with her in the gym working out and giving you some invaluable training tips. You then see her out and about at the famous Venice Beach. This is one of Hollywood Extra's best shows, so don't miss it!"

Mindi Smith Picture

Acupuncture for sports and bodybuilding gym related injuries?

2011-01-11T12:47:00.000-08:00

Acupuncture for sports and bodybuilding gym related injuries? was thinking if you can afford it and find a good reputable acupuncturist then it can be a excellent way to help recover from injury and also speed up the process of getting into shape.

Holistic Alternatives Acupuncture

Acupuncture & Chinese herbs for pain and stress relief.

Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine : Acupuncture Meridians: Part 1

"How energy flows through meridians and how acupuncture accesses them; learn this and more in this free online alternative health video series focusing specifically on traditional Chinese medicine."

Acupuncture was first discovered in China 2696 through 2598 B.C. Huang Di "The Yellow Emperor" who was the third great emperor of China. Acupuncture was initiated and discovered during the Yellow emperors reign and the surviving document is the Yellow Emperors Classic of Internal Medicine translation by Ilza Veith, University of California Press, Berkeley, California 1993. This Yellow Emperors Classic text is the basis for acupuncture and was the current book of medical care in 2600's B.C.

The next significant improvement was in 2006 BC through 202 AD during the Han Dynasty. Several important books were written at that time. The Huang Ti Nei Ching Yellow Emperors inner classic was produced with Su-wen (basic questions) and Ling Shu (mysterious pivot) and this last book brought in moxibustion as part of the acupuncture treatment.

During the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316 A.D.), the book Zhen Jiu Jia Y. Jing was written (Comprehensive Manual of Acupuncture Moxibustion) is the oldest exiting test of acupuncture and moxibustion only. 368-1640, The Ming Dynasty, Zhen Jiu Dei Cheng, (Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) serves as a basis for all modern acupuncture treatment. In 1671, PP Harviell, S. J. A jesuit priest who brought acupuncture to Europe via France wrote Les secrets de la Medicine des Chinois, Consitant en al Parfaite Connoissance du Pauls.

In 1683, Wilen Pen Rhijne, M.D. wrote a book on "Dissertatia de Arthritide". Dr. Rhijne was a Dutch East Indian Company fleet surgeon in Japan who provided further delineation of acupuncture treatment. Then in 1758, Lorenz Heister, M.D. wrote an article "Chiraigeies." He was the first surgeon to recommend acupuncture. Then in 1820 at La Pities, Hotel Dieu La Charite acupuncture was taught in France at some of the best hospitals. With the French leading the way in European acupuncture, the Dutch and Germans followed in suit as acupuncture received a renaissance in the 1820's.

In the United states, Franklin Bache M.D. great grandson of Benjamin Franklin, wrote an article, "Case illustrative of remial effects of acupuncture" showing how acupuncture was beneficial in the patient use in treating the penal system of Philadelphia. In 1916, Sir William Osler B.T., M.D., FBS wrote in the Principles and Practice of Medicine recommended treatment for lumbago was acupuncture.

However, after the 1920's acupuncture was rarely ever used in the United States. In 1971, James Reston reporter for the New York Times with Nixon's Chinese trip developed appendicitis. The Chinese proposed surgery for his appendectomy using acupuncture anesthesia. His post operative pain after appendectomy treatment was relieved by acupuncture at the Anti-Imperialist Hospital in Peking, China.

Then in 1971, E. Gray Diamond M.D. wrote in JAMA , 'Acupuncture anesthesia, western medicine and Chinese traditional medicine'. He wrote about the experiences in China. It was met with much skepticism. However in 1973, the New York Society of acupuncture for physicians and dentists was formed. This was the first physician and surgeon organization in the United States dedicated towards acupuncture. In 1973, The AMA council of Scientific affairs declares acupuncture an experimental medical procedure.The FDA then required acupuncture equipment to be labeled as investigative devices as recommended by the AMA. In 1983, The American Osteopathic Association endorses the use of acupuncture as a part of the practice of medicine.

In 1987, The American Academy of Medical acupuncture was formed as the first national physician and surgeon organization dedicated to the advancement of acupuncture within America. In 1991, thirteen states and the district of Columbia regulate the practice of acupuncture by physicians and 23 states in the district of Columbia establish licensing requirements for non-physician acupuncturist. In 1993, 500 million dollars per year was spent by the United States public on acupuncture treatment.

In 1994, NIH and the FDA, reviewed the investigational designation of acupuncture needles. In 1996, the FDA reclassifies the acupuncture needles as Class II medical devices. In 1996, 11 states in the district of Columbia regulate the practice of acupuncture by physicians. 26 states in the district of Columbia provide licensing regulations for non-physicians. Non-physicians are presented by various organizations including the Council Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, the National Commission for Certification of acupuncturist.

Many physicians in the United States began to receive training at UCLA in 1982 and to this date under Joseph Helms M.D. These physicians learn traditional Chinese medicine, French energetic, five element, neuroanatomic, auricular and hand acupuncture. These acupuncture treatment systems and microsystems are currently used throughout the United States today along with other microsystems including Yamamoto New Scalp Acupuncture and Chinese scalp acupuncture.

is creatine still bodybuilding's top supplement here is the science behind creatine use what creatine does in the body

2010-11-09T17:10:00.000-08:00

is creatine still bodybuilding's top supplement here is the science behind creatine use what creatine does in the body, Creatine: The science behind bodybuilding's most popular supplement!.

Creatine may be the most popular supplement used by the
bodybuild community. And rightly so, because both scientific evidence
and real-world experience support its use.
If you've had difficulty keeping up with the hurricane of data published in science journals, no need to fret- here we present the latest information
on this amazing compound.

Q: What is creatine?

A: Derived from the amino acids arginine, glycine and methionine, creatine is made by your
body primarily in the liver, pancreas and kidneys, and can be obtained from a diet rich in meat
or fish (you'll consume about 5 grams per 2.2 pounds of meat).
Thus, you'd have to eat some 9 pounds of meat to ingest 20 grams of creatine- the initial
loading dose often prescribed during the first phase of creatine supplementation. Creatine is stored mainly in skeletal muscle (approximately 98%) as free creatine, or bound to a phosphate molecule (PCr, or phosphocreatine).
PCr serves as an immediate source of energy for muscle contraction, which is especially important during short duratiion, anaerobic, high intensity exercise such as sprinting or weightlifting.
Another vital function of creatine is its ability to offset or buffer hydrogen ions. Hydrogen ions cause the pH of the muscle cell to drop (it becomes more acidic), one factor that contributes to muscle fatigue.

Q: How does creatine work?

A: When you perform multiple bouts of intense anaerobic exercise, the depletion of PCr can
occur within 10 seconds! This may contribute to some of your fatigue or inability to lift maximal weights. Supplementing with creatine can increase intramuscular creatine by as much as one-third, which can enhance the formation of PCr and in turn help you maintain maximal or near-maximal power output or strength for a longer duration.
Consequently, your workouts can be more intense and you'll fatigue less easily, which seems
to translate into greater mass gains in the long run.

Q: What are some of the reported ergogenic effects of creatine?

A: Creatine has been shown to enhance the following athletic or performance measures:
• Increased one rep max (1RM) on the bench press
• Increased total number of reps at 70% 1RM on the bench press
• Increased power output
• Cycle power over 10 six-second bouts is better maintained
• Decreased rate of fatigue
• Increased ability to perform repeated maximal jumps
• Increased time to exhaustion during sprints
• Improved run time for 300 meters and 1,000 meters

Q: What doses provide an ergogenic effect?

A: The classical scheme of creatine supplementation involves an initial loading phase followed
by a maintenance phase. Usually, 20-30 grams of creatine monohydrate are ingested per day
for one week, a dose of about 0.3 grams per 2.2 pounds of body weight.
This loading dose results in an approximate 30% increase in PCr muscle stores; those
individuals with the lowest initial levels of creatine accrue the greatest increases.
Because the amount of creatine that can be stored in muscle is limited, however, a
maintenance phase is recommended. Doses of about 2 grams per day can ostensibly maintain the total creatine levels established via the loading regimen.

Q: Is the loading phase really necessary?

A: You may be able to save money by not embarking on the initial loading phase.
A recent study from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden compared the effects of taking 20
grams of creatine daily for six days followed by 2 grams per day for one month vs. ingesting 3 grams of creatine daliy for one month.
Although the latter group ingested a lower absolute amount of creatine, both schemes caused about a 20% nncrease in muscle creatine. Thus, 3 grams of creatine per day minus the loading phase is an effective and less-costly way to supplement.

Q: Does caffeine affect creatine?

A: A brewing controversy concerns how caffeine intake might affect creatine uptake. In one
study, Belgian scientists compared the effects of ingesting creatine (0.5 grams per 2.2 pounds
of body weight per day) vs. creatine plus caffeine (5 mg per 2.2 pounds of body weight per day)
for six days. The amount of caffeine ingested equaled about 454 mg for a 200-pound individual.
An average cup of coffee has about 200 mg of caffeine, so this dosage is slightly more than two cups of coffee.
Levels of muscle PCr increased in both the creatine, and creatine-plus-caffeine groups. Yet dynamic torque production (force applied to a joint, for example, isokinetic knee-extension exercises) improved by up to 23% in the creatine group but didn't change in the creatine-plus-caffeine group.
In this study, caffeine seemed to offset the ergogenic effects of creatine.
Yet many athletes regularly drink coffee or cola drinks containing caffeine and still acquire the benefits of creatine. It may not be necessary to eliminate that morning cup of coffee, at least
not yet.

Q: How does the ingestion of carbohydrate affect creatine?

A: A study from Queen's Medical Center in Nottingham, England, investigated the effects of carbohydrate intake on creatine uptake.
Four times daily for five days, scientists gave 24 healthy men (average age approximately 24 years) 5 grams of creatine or 5 grams of creatine followed by 93 grams of high-glycemic carbohydrate 30 minutes later. Both supplementation schemes increased muscle creatine significantly; however, the group that also ingested carbohydrate had a 60% greater increase in muscle creatine! Insulin release stimulated by the consumption of these simple sugars likely plays a role in the transport of creatine into muscle cells.
Some creatine products include sugars in their formula to capitalize on these effects, but you often end up paying top dollar for this inexpensive addition.
To obtain the same type of insulin response without the big price tag, try mixing your creatine
with 8-10 ounces of a high glycemic beverage such as grape or apple juice.

Q: Does creatine affect the biochemistry of muscle fibers?

A: Studies indicate that rats given creatine can run longer and harder than non-supplemented
rats. An intriguing observation of these rats' muscles showed that creatine caused a slight increase in the percentage of Type IIB muscle fibers, the largest kind of muscle fiber.
Theoretically, if you could increase the percentage of IIB fibers, you'd have more of the fibers
that produce very high force outputs, relative to Type IIA or Type I fibers.
Greater force outputs could translate into more intense training, which might increase your potential for muscle-fiber growth.

Q: What are the possible harmful side effects of creatine?

A: The only known side effect of creatine supplementation to date is weight gain (about 6-7 pounds in one month) as a function of water retention. Some anecdotal reports suggest that creatine may predispose certain users to muscle pulls or cramps, but this hasn't been demonstrated scientifically.

That creatine is one of the most beneficial supplements you can take for size and strength
gains probably isn't news to you.
But should you be concerned about missing a few doses of this hot supplement? According
to Jeff Volek, MS, RD, from Penn State University, and as reported in the Penn State Sports Medicine Newsletter, the answer is no. He indicates that the breakdown of creatine is a slow process and that you get creatine in your diet anyway.
Besides, studies show that even after a month of no creatine ingestion, levels were higher
than before supplementation began.

The benefits of taking creatine might be overblown but creatine still good supplement to use for exercise bodybuilding etc

2010-11-09T17:04:00.000-08:00

The benefits of taking creatine might be overblown but creatine still good supplement to use for exercise bodybuilding etc.

Creatine benefits may be overblown, experts say

Creatine is not the muscle-builder and performance-booster
that many athletes believe it is, the chairman of a panel of expects has concluded.

"The expectations for creatine far outweigh the returns," said Ron Terjung, a professor of physiology at the University of Missouri, Columbia and chairman of a roundtable on the supplement at the American College of Sports Medicine.

Supporters say creatine is safe and has value in athletics.

Researchers have found performance improvements in laboratory tests involving sudden
bursts of very strenuous activity, Terjung said. But the improvements are under specific conditions, and they don't match up with what most athletes do, he said.

For instance, in the third through sixth repetition of a brief but very intense workout on a stationary bike, performance might improve 2 percent or 3 percent, Terjung said.

"Others would say that's the distinction between a gold medal or not, but the circumstances don't match the sport task," he said. What's more, so many other things can affect sports performance that it would be hard to weed out the effects of the creatine on competition,
he said.

Creatine-using athletes don't seem to realize this, Terjung said, with many believing creatine makes them stronger or faster.

Creatine helps the body replenish adenosine triphosphate, known as ATP, a key source of energy for muscle. The body makes creatine, but creatine also can be found in protein-rich
foods as well as in over-the-counter preparations.

When the body reaches a maximum and muscles are saturated with creatine, the balance is excreted in the urine. As a result, more is not necessarily better, and users who try to supersaturate with massive doses will fail, Terjung said.

Once the muscles have what they can handle, only about 3 more grams a day are needed to maintain this level, he said, "The modest few grams will certainly suffice," he said.

The jury is still out on creatine's value as a training aid, Terjung said. The supplement clearly makes athletes bigger, but this seems largely to be because creatine makes them retain
water, he said. It's not certain if creatine builds lasting strength or endurance improvements,
or whether the performance changes that result from creatine linger after creatine use ends.

As a result, some training rooms are becoming more cautious about supplying the supplement, although others still provide it freely to athletes, said Dr. Mark S. Juhn of the University of Washington. Schools that are cutting back may also be concerned about possible side effects and the resulting potential for legal action, he said.

Athletes who have taken creatine have reported such problems as cramping and diarrhea, although the problems end after creatine use is stopped. On the other hand, any severe
long-term effects that creatine could have on the body aren't known yet, said Juhn, who
wrote a review article in a medical journal, The Physician and Sportsmedicine. Juhn noted
two case reports of kidney problems, which responded to treatment.

Researcher Richard B. Kreider of the University of Memphis said Juhn overstated the risk.

Kreider and Steven S. Plisk of Yale wrote a largely supportive review in the Strength and Conditioning Journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

"Our view is that creatine appears to be safe and effective," he said. The reports of cramping
are not out of the ordinary, considering that athletes normally have some cramping as
they train, he said.

The two clinical reports don't make a case for risk because they can't rule out some other
cause for the condition, he said, adding that several studies have found no kidney risk.

And creatine clearly works, Kreider said. Creatine helps athletes gain muscle, and the
gains are too big to be explained simply by water retention, Kreider's article said.
What's more, creatine's gains come without adding body fat, he said.

Creatine's critics also understate the supplement's benefits, Kreider said. If it improves performance in a lab test, then creatine should help performance on the field, he said.
Lab taste are done because it's scientifically too difficult to test the supplement under
game conditions, he said.

However, Kreider and Plisk caution athletes who take creatine to be sure they are getting
the real stuff.

"The market is being flooded with low-quality product of overseas origin and possibly with domestic product that is being cut by unscrupulous distributors (often accompanied by a bogus/photocopied certificate of analysis or none at all)," their article said.

Buyers should make sure their dealer and the manufacturer have solid reputations, it said.

i found out how much a virgin active membership is!

2010-10-08T06:27:00.000-07:00

well i have found out roughly how much a virgin active gym membership is going to cost for my area, as different areas of the country and of towns have different price structures, it sounds like i will have to pay around £60 a month for my virgin active gym membership.

but if that sounds too much it is not all bad as some virgin active gyms are around £30 a month from what i read, it all depends on what town the virgin active is, down to how much you are going to have to pay for your virgin active gym membership fees.

i am hoping my membership might actually be a bit cheaper then £60, and hopefully more in the £50 range, but it sounds around that kind of range for full membership.

there are offers on what time of day you use the gym to get a cheaper gym membership at virgin, which will save you money and make the virgin active gym membership much cheaper.

but i am going for full access and not limited to certain times of the day, like on peak only or off peak only etc, i want to be able to go at any times of the day really.

my only other problem is that the virgin active gym is quite a way from where i live so i am going to need to see if i can actually get to the gym easy enough as well, see how long it takes me via pedal bike to get to the gym, which would be a workout in its self really.

and to get back home after a workout, but hopefully this should not be a problem, and when i have a car again it will be easier to get too and from the gym.

and there is free weights at the virgin active gyms! i noticed people on message boards and forums saying is there free weights in the virgin active gyms and can you do lifts like the squat, deadlift or bench press and the answer is yes, obviously virgin active gyms are not what you would call a hardcore gym.

but you can still do all the lifts in them, and the benefit of swimming pools and saunas as well, i will still have my own free weights at home as well, and still do training at home as well, as at a gym the best of both worlds really.

but for a lot of things i do not have the equipment at home to do a lot of exercises.

getting a virgin active gym membership in 2011

2010-10-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

i am going to get a virgin active gym membership in 2011, and i am quite excited about it, but first i need to save up some i think, like i have said before i train at home with my own weights which i will do on some occasions when i have the virgin gym membership.

but my idea is to get this gym membership so that i can get out and meet other people while training, also i think the virgin active gym's have a swimming pool and a sauna as well.

and also there will be lots of equipment i just can't have at home, for example i need more equipment to train legs better and things like that.

i am going to see if i can negotiate some deal to get either some free months on my membership or get some money knocked off, this is going to be expensive, but i think i will just go out drinking less as much and thus pay for my gym membership instead of pints and buying drinks etc on nights out.

just not sure how much does a virgin active gym membership cost but i think to get a full membership it might be at least £60 a month maybe more, so i want to save up a bit first before doing this and cannot see me having the virgin active gym membership in 2010, but hopefully quite early in 2011 though, and it will be cool to go train in a different environment and do some socialising as well.

i have read that a lot of relationships are formed in gyms and meeting people kind of like dating in gyms like virgin active.

why we train and go to the gym and workout look like jay cutler or arnold schwarzenegger in 2011?

2010-10-05T12:45:00.000-07:00

sometimes you find yourself lacking drive to go to the gym and train or train at home if you have a home gym like me, one of the things i have found as motivation is to look at muscular physiques like that of bodybuilders to get some inspiration and drive to train in my gym.

jay cutler

now we might not exactly want to look like a bodybuilder, or even is it possible for most of us to get that massive bodybuilding physique look anyway, but the idea is still the same to get in shape and build some muscles, maybe not to the degree of professional bodybuilders but build a nice toned physique is still possible for your average trainer.

the massive muscles of pro bodybuilder and mr olympia jay cutler

now this also goes the same for women as well, you can look at top female fitness models to get some inspiration for your gym training, and say i will TRY and look like that, obviously might not get to that level but if you aim for the top, at least you will get somewhere close by trying to get there you will improve over your own levels of physique.

top female fitness figure model jennifer nicole lee

jennifer nicole lee actually came from being very obese and needing to lose weight years ago into this kind of fitness figure shape believe it or not!.

and lets not forget arnold schwarzenegger who has been a inspiration for many people to work out in gyms or with weights for the last 40+ years!.

rare arnold schwarzenegger training arms/biceps video

classic bodybuilding physique of arnold schwarzenegger

arnold schwarzenegger

without further a do lets get to the gym on workout days, don't put it off unless you are ill that day, if you just don't feel like it, like it can be some days, get down a big cup of coffee, feel the energy growing and the will to train, remember you are after getting that beach figure body for summer 2011, so get to that gym and get training, or get out in the last bit of this years good weather for jog and get healthy.

mark dugdale cardio training in garage

2010-10-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

this is a good video shows mark dugdale cardio training in his garage, doing a rowing machine and shows just how easy it is to get a full body fat burning workout in if you have a bit of space to fit a rowing machine in somewhere in your house or garage, to make a basic gym set up just for fat loss and losing weight.

not so sure on what the rolling exercise mark is doing at the top of the screen though, in the top corner of the video.

mark dugdale

but just blasting a rowing machine once a day could lose lots of weight and get you in great shape over the space of a year.

rowing machine

free gym membership for people on benefits?

2010-09-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

i was reading in some situations there is free gym membership for people on benefits!, this can all depend on what area of the country you live and what particular benefits you are receiving, and it depends on what gym you are sent to as well, some might be council swimming baths style gyms and not your top of the line £1000 a month style gyms.

for example one women who was claiming getting tax credits got reduced gym membership to her local swimming pool.

where you might get really good gym membership can be if you are on sickness benefits and need exercise to get better for example to recover from injuries or to lose weight if you are clinically obese.

your doctor might prescribe you free gym membership as part of your benefits to help you get better for example lose weight or heal a injury through exercise.

but to find out about these free gym membership's for people on benefits you might also need to ask as well, to see if you can get the free gym membership, depending on what benefits you are receiving and what area of the country you live in.

free gym membership

free gym membership

2010-09-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

free gym membership should you train at home if gym membership is going to be too expensive?, if you live in a big city then this is the question you might need to ask yourself, unless you can find a decent cheap gym that does not cost the earth for membership.

i want to join one of those expensive city gyms myself but realise it is just too expensive, and at the moment would never have the money to do such, so what i do is train at home, and i think training at home i can get a better workout it.

the only problem with training at home is that you do lack the same amount of equipment you would get in a real gym and so it limits your training options a little but to work around this be inventive and do lots of research to find ways around this with the basic equipment you have you can devise a lot of effective training routines and exercises.

so training at home is not so bad, but a advantage of training in a posh expensive gym is that you do get to meet lots of single attractive women, and that is something that does not happen when you are training at home.

so i would like to have a expensive gym membership for the dating and meeting women advantages it would bestow, but at the moment i am contest due to financial reasons just to train at home and get in a excellent workout and save a lot of money in the process, or at least not spend a lot of money on a expensive gym membership.

if i had a lot of money or disposable income as they call it then i probably would get a gym membership to a top gym as well just to bump into lots of single women as well.

i think a quality gym is a good place to meet single attractive women who obviously like to keep in shape as well which is a bonus and also have similar interests in that they workout as well.

top bodybuilders get free gym membership and free bodybuilding supplements

2010-08-10T09:38:00.000-07:00

it is true that top level bodybuilders and sports stars get free gym membership but for us mortal trainers out there will still have to pay for our gym membership, though if you build up to be a top sportsman you might then get free gym membership.

also top bodybuilders and sports people also get free bodybuilding and health supplements a well, but that is the benefit of success it would seem.

free gym membership train at home?

2010-08-07T17:55:00.000-07:00

to really get free gym membership you need to be training at home, with all the wealth of information you get from the internet and youtube on how to train properly and what routines and exercises to follow, and also what gym equipment you need this might be easier then you think.

for free gym membership at home you will need a decent size room to set up your home gym, also some study on how to work out correctly if you do not already know, some research on the type of gym equipment you will need is important as this is where your money spend will come from in setting up your home gym.

other then that once your home gym is set up you do not need to spend any more money, i would go for a bench with incline capability, a lat pulldown and cable, free weights, barbell and dumbells, that can be weight plates taken on and off.

i also do jogging and running outdoors for a lot of my leg workout, this keeps the legs and cardiovascular in very good shape.

as just some basic ideas, but if you do not feel confident at all for home gym training then a real gym membership might be the best option for you.

you need to have the want to have your own gym and like to train alone and put in the research on how to do it right for free gym membership at home to really work well.

buy whey protein powder for after gym workout

2010-08-04T06:11:00.000-07:00

you should always take to the gym with your a good whey protein powder bodybuilding supplement like what myprotein sells for example of a cheap after your gym workout supp, trick is not to add water to the whey protein powder until after you have worked out and are ready to drink the powder.

so take in your dry protein shaker bottle, a serving of whey protein powder, keep the shaker with whey protein powder in your gym bag, after your workout simply add the required amount of water to the whey protein powder bodybuilding supplement, and shake.

the reason for not adding the water and mixing the supplement before your workout is that whey protein goes off very quickly and needs to be getting drunk after mixing with water.

but this is the quickest way to get those essential amino acids in after a heavy gym workout and keeping the muscles repairing and growing.

myprotein

the la fitness free gym pass or 2 months membership at la fitness offer £69

2010-07-17T05:47:00.000-07:00

la fitness gyms have some good free pass and cheap gym membership offers running, the first is you can get a free 3 day gym pass to a la fitness gym, i found the offer on the la fitness website, for the free 3 day gym pass at a la fitness gym.

the next offer i found for la fitness was a 2 months gym membership for just £69. it says if you love your body this offer is to help you get in shape for summer, and there is just enough time to get in shape for the back of summer still, though you can get in shape at any time of the year not just summer time.

some good money saving offers there for the la fitness gyms, go for 3 free days pass, then also you could probably take up the 2 months la fitness gym membership for just £69 cost.

la fitness gyms have locations all over the uk, for example there is a la fitness in south kensington and a la fitness in kings heath.

la fitness gyms

virgin active free gym day pass

2010-07-13T05:12:00.000-07:00

if you check out virgin active they are running a free gym pass for the month of july, this a great free offer by virgin active gyms, the free gym pass is only for one day, but it is a good way to check out the virgin active gym and see if it is worth you becoming a member.

best way to check out a gym first on one of these free day passes before signing up to a expensive gym membership, with the free day pass virgin active gyms is offering you can check out the gym and ask questions before even considering signing a gym membership contract.

on your free day pass to a virgin active gym you would need to check the gym out more then just workout, use the free day pass, on a spare day so you can actually be in the gym nearly all day, or go in twice in that day, and see what the virgin active gym equipment is like.

do virgin active have the kind of gym equipment you like, what are the cardio equipment like in virgin active, also what is the swimming pool and sauna area like in the virgin active gym.

make sure you take your swimming gear so that you can thoroughly check out these features, it is a full days pass so you need to use it wisely if you are htinking of taking out a virgin active gym membership you need to first evaluate through the free gym pass if virgin active is the gym for you.

virgin active gym membership

virgin active gym

free gym trial at fitness first

2010-07-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

i was reading money saving expert website and they offer free gym trial for the fitness first gym at the moment, you have to fill in a membership form on money supermarket com website to get the free 5 day gym trial at fitness first gym.

but reading further this trial has expired but is still up on the money saving expert so is not really any good, though it was still open a month or so a go but now is out of date.

but if you look around you can sometimes find these special offers for free gym passes or trials like the one that had been running at fitness first gym.

i think fitness first do offer a free one day guest pass though to first timers.

fitness first now has locations in all major cities, these are some of the location you can find a fitness first gym to train at in your area: fitness first gym birmingham, fitness first gym bristol, fitness first gym cardiff, fitness first gym hull, fitness first gym london, fitness first gym manchester, fitness first gym liverpool, fitness first gym leeds.

and also you can find fitness first gyms in more locations across the uk, just use the search on the fitness first website to locate gyms in your area.

this is a fuller list of some more locations you can find fitness first gyms, fitness first has a gym in most areas of the uk like: fitness first gym aintree, fitness first gym basingstoke, fitness first gym bath, fitness first gym belfast, fitness first gym bradford, fitness first gym colchester, fitness first gym derby, fitness first gym doncaster, fitness first gym ipswich, fitness first gym leicester, fitness first gym newcastle, fitness first gym york, fitness first gym wakefield.

use the fitness first gym locator if you are struggling to find the fitness first gym in your area.

and check out the free day pass they offer.

Free Gym Membership training outdoors parks pull ups

2010-06-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

you can get in great free gym workouts outdoors and if lucky in some parks have some basic training equipment like chin up bars pull up bars, chest press up bars, sit up seats and other outdoor gym equipment to get in some great free and out in the fresh air style workouts.

add into the free gym training some jogging and you have the makings of a really good free gym workout.

parks with pull up bars

free gyms with pull up bars