Best Fitness Tips

The Cardio-vascular Workout (running, cycling and swimming)

2011-08-04T23:32:00.003+08:00

To accomplish a good cardio-vascular workout you should always remember to warm up first and cool down afterwards. This means gently stretching and moving your muscles to start off with. Suddenly moving into full exercise without building up first will cause problems such as stiffness and cramps. Ease yourself into it. Then after exercise, the cool down is basically gently moving the muscles and joints to stretch and relax, as your body returns to its normal pace.

Running

Make sure you have a good pair of running shoes. The technology put into these shoes nowadays is highly researched and designed to reduce shock to the feet, ankles, legs and back. So don't skimp on these - you get what you pay for.Before you start your run, be sure to warm up first. Start with a brisk walk ensuring you move your arms vigorously gradually breaking into a slow jog. It is better to run at a speed to which you can still converse. If you find yourself losing breath, slow your pace down until you've recovered. If you are a novice runner try running and walking, until you can hold your run for 15 minutes.

Now increase the length and time of your run by a couple of minutes every other time you hit the road or treadmill, until you can run for 30 minutes without stopping. Try to increase your run time by 10% each week, remember not to over do it and don’t forget to warm down at the end of each by slowing down gradually. When your run is complete stretch your legs for 30 seconds per muscle, hamstring, calf and thigh.

Cycling

Cycling is one of the best ways to get a good cardio-vascular workout.First of all, if you are riding on the roads safety is paramount, always use the appropriate safety equipment when road riding. You can stay fit by riding a bike to work, most people work within a five mile radius of there place of work, which is a perfect distance for a bike ride.

Exercise bikes can be used in a variety of ways, general riding for specified length of time, this is like going for a bike ride with out the dangers of road riding and the weather. Warm up riding you can use an exercise bike for warming up the legs before a leg workout. Also exercise bike classes, these classes are taken by an instructor, who will put you through various levels of pace, quite like a circuit training exercise with a bike.

You may find it surprising to find that riding a bike five miles 3 times per week will improve your heart rate, your posture, skin and weight control. Some even say that riding and running are great ways of relieving stress.

Swimming

One of the best ways to firm up and trim your body down. Due to the resistance the water has on the body swimming involves all the major muscle groups this allows the body to burn up to 20% more calories than swimming through air. Swimming a few lengths per day will keep you fit and give you an excellent workout. Swimming also has less impact on the joints than say, running.

If you wish to take your swim a little further try picking up the pace of your swim, you can work up to a great aerobic exercise and give your body an excellent workout. Start off by swimming 1-2 lengths at a time resting between sets if necessary, after you have swam ten lengths call it a day. The next day repeat the process until you can swim five lengths without a break. Progress to ten lengths in by adding an extra length each time you return.

You can put together your own cardio raining routing in the gym, if you have a problem with this then the staff on hand will write one for you and show you how to achieve your goal. Try to make your cardio last between an hour and an hour and a half. A good start point for cardio is always a run.

This cardio workout will work for a person of medium fitness, however adjust the times and pace according to your fitness levels.

1. Run at a light pace for 20 minutes, start off at a walking pace and gradually move to a run, this helps you get warmed up and the blood pumping.

2. Rowing machine- set the rowing machine for a countdown time of 15 minutes or keep a check on your watch or the clock. Start off with a slow rowing motion to get the pace up, maintain this steady pace throughout the full 13 minutes and use the 2 minutes to slow the pace down.

3. Move immediately on to exercise bike take a stead paced ride for 12 minutes with a sprint finish for the remaining 3 minutes.

4. After the exercise bike move directly on to the step climber for a period of 15 minutes climbing on a light level to get the legs going. Try to move at a swift pace for the full 15 minutes as this is the last of the leg work you will be doing.

5. When you have completed the step climber, move onto the abs bench for some crunches. 4 sets of crunches to failure is your target for this exercise. Try twisting your body and touching your left knee with your right elbow and vice versa.

6. The last exercise in this quick cardio workout is the leg raise apparatus. Bring your knees up to your chest for 3-4 sets for as many reps as possible (failure)

After the completion of this cardio workout, remember to do a full warm down by stretching the muscles. The full workout should take you around 1 hour 20 minutes.

The Reasons Why You Should Try Rowing Machine?

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The rowing machine is a great way to get an upper and lower body cardiovascular workout. The machines have been reported to burn upwards of 1000 calories for each hour spent exercising on one. However, they do tend to become monotonous and boring when exercising for long periods of time. One way to combat boredom when using a rowing machine is to watch a TV show or listen to music while performing your exercise routines. You can also vary your workouts with periods of high intensity rowing interspersed with periods of low intensity rowing.

There are four types of resistance used in rowing machines. They are magnetic resistance, piston resistance, water resistance, and air resistance. Water and air rowing machines are the most popular, but they tend to cost the most. Rowing machines are designed to imitate the rowing of a boat in the open water. They are the perfect answer to help rehabilitate muscles, ligaments, and joints after an injury.

The rowing machine is a wonderful piece of exercise equipment. It can help build your legs, back, arms, and increase your core strength if used on a regular basis. When used correctly, the equipment will help to add muscle tissue, improve cardiovascular health, tone muscles, and help you to lose weight.

Exercise rowing machines are a great way to get aerobic exercise. The more muscles you use when you exercise, the less time it takes to give your body a full workout.

Rowing moves your body through a wider range of motion than most activities, stretching your muscles and rotating your joints. Exercise rowing machines works out muscles in your arms, legs, stomach and torso building muscular strength and endurance.

To operate a rowing machine, sit on the seat with knees bent. Hold the handles in both the hands. Pull back with the arms and back while pushing your seat back by extending your legs. However, people with back problems should proceed with caution because rowing can put a strain on your back. Always check with your doctor before starting any exercise program.

Rowing is a very versatile sport that can be done indoors or out. It is a complete exercise that is satisfying, enjoyable to do and provides a balance of fitness benefits. You can get a great workout with rowing whether you are indoors, on an exercise rowing machine or outdoors enjoying the fresh air. You can row solo or join a local rowing club for the social benefits.

The steady rhythm of rowing will challenge your body, but it can also help calm your mind. Picture yourself rowing outdoors on a quiet lake; your body, your mind, the boat and the water all blended into one blissful space in time.

What is Chin-ups and how to do Chin-ups?

2011-08-04T21:19:00.005+08:00

The chin-up is a strength training exercise. People frequently do this exercise with the intention of strengthening muscles such as the latissimus dorsi and biceps, which extend the shoulder and flex the elbow, respectively. A chin-up is very similar to a pull-up with the exception of hand position. Chin-ups are performed with your palms facing your body, while pull-ups are performed with your hands facing away from your body.

Variations of Chin-ups

Sternal chinups : this variant employs a fuller range of motion at the top, raising beyond the chin and touching the sternum to the bar. The elbows are nearly directly below the shoulders this way. This requires adequate scapular depression. If leaning back (arching the spine) a sternum-up can be done that is not a chin-up, this shifts to requiring scapular retraction.
Weighted chin-ups : weight is added dangling from a dipping belt or via weighted belt or vest, ankle weights, chains, medicine ball between the knees, dumbbell between the feet or kettlebells on top of the feet.
One arm chin-ups : one hand grips the bar and the other hand does not assist; a variation involves gripping the bar with one hand and the wrist with the other, but requires far less effort as two arms are still used.
Supine chin-ups : in the supine position akin to a front lever, the arms are held perpendicular to the body as the grip the bar; the chest is pulled towards the bar instead of the chin. This exercise is performed in the horizontal (transverse) plane, whereas other chin-up variations are performed in the vertical (coronal) plane. As a result, this variation recruits the trapezius and teres major muscles much more than a vertical chin-up would, and is more commonly known as the inverted row or supine row. This would be better titled a form of sternum-up as the chin does not actually reach the bar.

How to do Chin-ups?

Like we said before chin-ups has a variety of different types.

The movement begins with the arms extended above the head, gripping a hold. It may be fixed, such as a chin-up bar or moving, such as gymnastic rings or rotating handles.
The body is pulled up, with the bar approaches or touches the upper chest. A chin-up is considered complete based on a variety of criteria in relation to where the chin should be in respect to the bar, or in respect to the hand grips.
The body is then lowered until the arms are straight, and the exercise is generally repeated.
Like any pull-up, chin-ups can be performed with a kip, where the legs and back impart momentum to aid the exercise, or from a dead hang, where the body is kept still. Performing the chin-up correctly can be tricky with a supinated grip, because of the natural tendency to do most of the work with the elbow flexors (largely biceps) rather than the shoulder extensors (largely lats).
Initiating the pulling action with scapular depression may help avoid this problem. The exercise is most effective in stretching the working muscles when the body is lowered down to a full extension.

Exercise you must do to build muscle mass

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1. Dips

Bench presses and all the different variations are good if you want to build mainly a bigger chest but you should also think about doing dips if you really want to build muscle fast and improve your physique.

Start off by doing bodyweight only dips and once you can do more than 10 bodyweight only dips then you can move on to doing weighted dips to really pack on muscle mass in not only your chest but in your arms and shoulders as well.

Bonus tip for dips: The more you lean forward while doing dips will give you a better chest workout and the more you keep yourself upright will give you a better triceps workout and don’t listen to anyone who says dips are strictly for your lower chest.

2. Chin ups

Forget about lat pull downs and rows for a minute and start doing chin-ups and/or pull-ups. The chin-ups will help you build bigger and better looking arms faster than endless sets of curls and the pull-ups will build you a more impressive back than the various lat pull down machine movements and rowing exercises.

Doing chin-ups and pull-ups in the gym are also more impressive and just like with dips, once you can do more than 10 pull-ups or chin-ups in a row then you need to start adding weight to your pull-ups and chin-ups to keep gaining muscle in your back and arms with pull-ups and chin-ups.

3. Hill sprints

Not only will hill sprints build muscle in every muscle in your lower body (your thighs, buttocks, hamstrings and calves) it will also help you burn fat at the same time and the steeper the hill means you’ll get a much better lower body workout. So instead of doing the quad dominant squat and leg press exercises. Do hill sprints to build a much more muscular overall lower body.

4. The Clean and Press

This may be the ultimate total body workout for both building muscle fast and burning fat all over your body at the same time and if you don’t know. Clean and Presses are where you basically pick a weight up off the floor (like a deadlift) and power it up to your chest (the clean) and then you press it over your head (like in a military press). Clean and Presses work basically every muscle in your body except your chest area but if your traps and shoulders are not as muscular as you like them to be then Clean and Presses will help you fill out those areas pretty quickly.

5. Don’t do Ab exercises

If you do most of the exercises I have listed then there is no need to really do any direct Ab exercises since your abs are already heavily involved but if you’re not satisfied and you feel you still need to do ab exercises then I suggest you do your ab workouts just like you workout for any other body part and do sets using resistance (or weights) for less than 12 reps per set so for example.

You could do hanging leg raises for 4 sets of 6-12 reps with or without ankle weights or you could do weighted crunches with a weight that’s heavy enough to make you only do less than 12 reps at a time.

Do Each of these exercises once a week to build muscle fast.You only need to do each of the 4 exercises listed (plus any optional ab exercises) only once a week and beginners may be able to get away with 2 times a week and as a sample once a week schedule.

Do Dips and Chin-ups or pull-ups in 5 supersets of 6-12 reps on Mondays.

Do 5-to-10 Hill Sprints on Tuesdays.

Do Cleans and Presses for 5 sets of 5-10 reps on Fridays.

Important Elements for a Bigger Bench Press

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Proper positioning on a weight bench to maximize leverage

Keep the bar in line with the eyes; if you are too far towards the top of the bench it puts your shoulders in a weak position and wastes energy, and creates unsteadiness when lifting off.
Firm foot contact with the floor close to the bench is Paramount! Feet on the bench, straight legs with feet lightly touching the floor is a recipe for failure; it decreases force and puts you out of balance. Feet planted firmly on the floor and push from that foundation to blow through sticking points. When your feet are close to the bench, it's easier to keep the arch in your back.
Keep a solid foundation by retracting your shoulder blades and powerfully push yourself through the bench. Keep the chest the highest point with the back slightly arched and shoulder blades retracted, stay tight in the midsection; this will keep your back securely in contact with the bench and create the stability needed for heavy benching. Keeping the chest with a slight arch in the lower back will decrease the distance the bar has to travel.

A word about grip strength

You will notice most Big Benchers have huge forearms; that is because grip strength is a huge factor in controlling the bar. Wrap your thumbs around the bar and squeeze hard as if you squeeze right through the bar. Grip the bar low in the palm towards the heel of your hand and lock your wrists straight to create leverage! If you correct the frequent mistake of holding the bar near the base of your fingers causing a backward bend in your wrist you will notice an immediate increase in your max bench due to the improved leverage and increase in sending the force of the chest, deltoids, triceps bicep tendon… straight through to the bar

Use the width of your grip to exploit your strengths!

Sticking Points result from weakness in secondary muscle groups. Where the bar stalls will pinpoint the weak muscle.

Mid point = weak pecs and/or triceps
Bottom = weak front deltoids
Lock out = triceps.
Use a wide grip if you have strong pecs and are weak in deltoids and triceps

Choose the grip width and elbow placement based on your body

Long arms use a wide grip to shorten the path of the bar (elbows out)
Short arms use a closer grip (elbows in more)

Employ your strengths

Strong triceps? use a closer grip and elbows close to your body
Weak in the Delts? use a close grip keeping elbows wide

Strengthen assistance muscles and eliminate weak points!

A Big Bench = Powerful Deltoids, Lats, Triceps, Forearms and Bicep Tendons.

Work with heavy weights on these groups and your bench will improve, (especially go heavy on triceps!)

Use rows to exercises the lats think of barbell rows as a reverse bench press this trains the back in the same plane as the bench press.

Lifting Form = Physics. The shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line!

If you have shoulder pain,keep your elbows and arms at a 90° angle and lower the bar a bit below the nipples to increase leverage, recruit more of the assistance muscles mentioned above and prevent external arm rotation which is hard on shoulder joints.
Lift right away once the bar is above your chest, it’s a little late to get “geared up” so don’t just hold the bar over your chest, get on with it!
You are stronger on the eccentric, (negative), so slow down and lower under control
Pause at the bottom to prevent momentum, this is important on working any muscle for hypertrophy. Quick movements are better suited to certain sport specific training.
Press straight up unless it feels causes shoulder pain or feels too abnormal
Again for most people developing tricep strength will help form the most so train them heavy!
Breath in deep on the eccentric stage hold your breath during the initiation of the concentric phase
Push as hard as you can through a full range of motion

Between set resting

The one minute rest won’t get it on a heavy bench day 2 to 3 minutes is more like it, many advanced lifters adhere to a 5 minute rest between heavy sets.

Initially strength is determined by your nervous system and connective tissue integrity

80% of initial strength increase is determined by nervous system motor unit recruitment. A motor unit is a nerve and all the muscle fibers innervated. Heavy tension is required for the recruitment of high threshold motor units- these are fast twitch which tend to grow, (increase in mitochondria and supporting cytoplasm). Slow twitch become more metabolically efficient. If the impulse from the nerve is too weak you’re muscles are weak the more motor units recruited have more muscle innervations and strength increases. Once that nerve fires once in the movement it will fire every time; this is called the all or none principle.

When a motor unit is sufficiently activated once the entire pool of fibers contract. The central nervous system can increase the strength of muscle contraction by:

Increasing the number of active motor units (i.e., spatial recruitment)
Increasing the firing rate at which individual motor units fire to optimize the summated tension generated (i.e., temporal recruitment)
Both occur concurrently

Heavy Benching is very taxing on the nervous system overtraining is a common mistake as trainees don’t take into account nervous system recovery!

Mindset

Benching near your max has as much to do with your mind as it does with strength and technique weight mentally, you need to believe, (even picture yourself), or it will not happen

Sometimes little rituals before the lift are a good idea to clear your thoughts and put you in the mindset, you've seen this with field goal kickers and other sports that are primarily mental; these are called “anchors”. Develop a simple action, (anchor) such as: clapping, stomping, or something as simple as deeply breathing a given number of times. It should be an uncomplicated movement that you don’t normally do.
It is common for lifters to hit sticking points at times when they add another 45 lb plate (i.e. 225, 315, 405…); this is obviously a mental barrier not physical. When training people I would have them go from say 215 to 230 to avoid this (but that is just a band aid for mental barriers!).
Focus and maintain your concentration and be only selectively aware of your surroundings.
You must picture in your mind doing and believing you will make the lift, a grain of doubt will = an avalanche of failure, a valuable lesson successful lifters learn early.

Apply these techniques and get the proper equipment and I guarantee serious results and a bigger bench!

The Basics to Building Strong and Sexy Abs

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Many peoples train their abs regularly without really seeing the results they want. If this is you, pay particularly attention to these tips. Learning to work your abs effectively with the help of the right diet is the only way you can achieve washboard abs.

1- Force The Contraction. When performing abdominal exercises you shouldn't just go through the motions. You should concentrate on your mid section creating a strong contraction. The best way to develop your abs is to work them as hard as possible on each rep.

2- Hold The Contraction. Once you've contracted your mid section, lower your body to the mid point of the move and hold the contraction for an extra 2 to 3 seconds. The strong contraction will work the muscle fibers in your abs and teach your body to develop your mid section more effectively.

3- Stretch. After the contraction stage and as you lower your body to the starting position, you should feel a stretch in your mid section. This stretch in the negative phase of the movement forces your abs to work throughout the entire set, taking your abs to full exhaustion with fewer reps.

This will lead to increased intensity and greater results.

4-Quality Over Quantity. If you follow the above tips, you'll be achieving this goal by default. Don't be obsessed with pumping out meaningless reps. Emphasize the quality of each rep, forcing and holding the contraction and feeling the stretch. No need to count reps, just work as hard as you can during each rep until you have to break form, then stop and rest for the next set.

The Right Way To Do Push-Ups

2011-08-04T17:19:00.002+08:00

There is nothing better than building muscle to boost your metabolic rate and in the process getting a muscular physique. The Golden rule is that the more muscle you have, higher would be your metabolic rate because muscle has a higher rate of calorie consumption. Exercise that use body weight are a great way to build muscle and can simultaneously increase endurance, improve cardio respiratory performance and last but not the least burn fat!

Push-ups, squats, pull-ups, lungs are a few of the body weight exercises which effectively help you train your entire body and can be performed anytime and anywhere. Today we shall discuss push-ups and how they can help you tone up your upper body. Push-ups not only recruit the muscle of chest, shoulder, arms and upper back but also recruit muscles of your midsection for balance and stability. Here is how to perform a basic push up:

1 With your feet together, place your palms on the floor with your elbows fully extended.

2 Keep your back, hips and legs in a straight line.

3 Lower your body slowly towards the floor and stop when your elbow joints are in line with your shoulders.

4 Pause for a moment. Begin straightening your arms to return to the start position.

5 Inhale as you lower yourself towards the floor and Exhale as you push yourself up from the floor.

6 Always keep your back straight. Stop doing your push ups when your lower back gets tired.

Don't sag in the middle as this could lead to injury.

If the basic push-up is difficult for you then you can perform push-ups with your knees touching the floor and build it up from there. If the basic push up is easy then you can try advanced push ups by keeping legs or hands on a stability ball. Even 10 minutes of the body weight exercises everyday can help you enhance your fitness levels significantly and get you closer to your goal of acquiring a good looking body. Any form of exercise works if you do it regularly.

7 Tips On Fitness For Women

2011-08-04T15:45:00.002+08:00

Is your lifestyle around the house and at office have you a little worried because of those extra pounds you are carrying around, because of not enough physical activity? Have you tried some of the dieting guides and failed? Do not lose heart.

Here are 7 great tips on fitness for woman:

1. Get a program that will best suit you. Every fitness woman is different. You may have surgical history where a program may not be suited for you. Always consult a qualified trainer to make sure that the fitness program will not hurt you. If the fitness program is not for you, it will only be a cause of frustration and injuries.

2. Set realistic targets. Wouldn't you be frustrated if you set your mind into reshaping your body in month? Make sure that the body you prefer in a period of time is achievable and realistic. The program should also be practical and will not give you false hopes. It is important to be aware of the blocks you encounter in your daily living. This will help you know what program is satisfactory. And once a program has been reached, then you can set goals and timelines that are realistic.

3. Exercises should work on the parts of your body where muscles are. The reason mainly is, when you develop muscles, you burn more calories and then you lessen the fats in your body. Multi-joint exercises and weight lifting are recommended. Learn what exercises work on certain parts of your body. Multi-joint exercises are also said to be effective but time saving.

4. Be systematic on working on your muscles. Your muscles should be working harder over time. Repeating the same sets of exercises and same weight without getting your muscles to work harder will not give satisfactory results. You can record your daily results and make the progression based on your previous data. A daily log will also motivate you since you are able to track how far you have gone. It builds confidence since there is a written proof something that was successfully accomplished.

5. Perform a set of exercises in 10 repetitions. Every number that was accomplished is called a repetition. Try to make every repetition with less momentum as much as possible. The lesser the momentum, the harder your muscles work. And the harder they work, the bigger they become. To check if there is much momentum when lifting, see if the arm is floating. If the arm does float, then there is much momentum.

6. Be flexible and perform a variety of exercises. Every exercise program should have a variety. You can change your exercises, goals and sets every month to keep you motivated and on the go. Doing this will help you prevent being bored and losing energy physically and mentally.

7. Be Motivated! The best way to keep the energy levels of trainees is to allow a healthy competition and allow them to have a sense of control. Having control is having the sense ownership where everybody gets a part in implementing a program. To do this you also need to be consistent in demonstrating your skills.

Hydration in Bodybuilding

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So many people don’t realize how important it is to keep your body hydrated, especially during work out. Also most of them will work out too much adding to the negative effect dehydration can have. What is really concerning is that in bad conditions like extreme warmth and an excessively long work out with lack of water several incidents like strokes can happen. This should be avoided and it helps more than you’d imagine if you drink enough water.

Water is a big part of our body (55 to 75% of our body weight) and also think about the fact that blood is 90% formed of water. Now just think about it! What can happen if your blood does not have enough water? It’s very simple, it will thicken and the natural flow of it will be damaged. Also, the muscle is formed of 70-80% water.

Many people ask: how can they know how much water to drink during a workout? It is a simple procedure that should be followed. All you have to do is weigh yourself before exercising and you have to have the same weight when the work out is done. If you weigh less then you are dehydrated.

On the other hand drinking too much water will lead to a condition called Hyponatremia. This can also lead in extreme cases to serious accidents like strokes and comas. Too much water is also bad as you can see.

The kidneys are very important in our body when talking about hydration as they regulate the fluids by controlling the flow of urine. Have you ever noticed the difference in color of the urine? If it is excessively clear then you are over hydrated and if it is too dark then you are dehydrated.

Be attentive to the levels of hydration in your work out. As you can see it is very important and as a general rule it will also help you have a better and more productive exercise session.

To Burn Fat, Try The Deadlift!

2011-08-02T16:51:00.003+08:00

The deadlift is quite possibly the biggest 'muscle working exercise' on the face of this planet. It engages pretty much every muscle in your body and therefore burns a large amount of energy into the bargain. What's more, it will send your metabolism sky rocketing after training, forcing you to burn a high number of calories between sessions. If you need to lose fat, THIS is the exercise to embrace!

Deadlifts are feared by many, but embraced by those that appreciate its power. There really is no reason to fear this exercise. For complete beginners, results can be achieved with minimal weight, simply by focusing on technique. As you become confident with the movement you can begin to add more weight to your bar or your dumbbells, and be assured that you are working your body in a time-effective manner that gives you good results.

The deadlift loads your spine, forcing your core muscles to engage and work hard. Too many people spend too long fixating on their abdominals and not nearly enough time working their spinal muscles. The beauty of the deadlift is that it works both - together.

This core loading will make your spinal support muscles stronger and do a lot to prevent or even start to cure lower back pain, provided that your technique is good. What's more, deadlifts will teach you the correct way to pick up heavy objects from the ground without 'doing your back in'. So you see, deadlifts are not just reserved for bodybuilders and powerlifters. They're are very useful for everyday living too.

Finally, deadlifts are a great way of instilling good posture into our 'desk-bound' lifestyles. They force your body to use muscles that desk-sitting cause to weaken. Some of the biggest muscles in your body - the glutes (buttocks), hamstrings (back of the thighs) and upper back muscles - all come into play with this exercise, the very muscles you need to be strong to hold your body up straight.

How To Do Deadlift :

1. Place the barbell on the ground and attach weights to it according to your strength and fitness level. If it is your first time performing the deadlift, please don't get macho and stack up the plates. It's always easy to add weight later but you'll regret it if you get hurt. Perfect your form before you test your physical limits with this lift.

2. Step up to the bar so that your feet are approximately shoulder width apart and under the bar pointing forward or slightly outward. Looking vertically, the bar should be over the balls of your feet.

3. Squat down and grasp the bar. Your hands should be slightly more than shoulder width apart (on the outside of your legs). Although you can use any grip you're comfortable with, an alternate grip is recommended. An alternate grip is where, when you grasp the bar, one of your palms is facing you and the other is facing away from you. This tends to stabilize the bar since it may tend to roll out of your hands if both palms are facing the same direction, especially if you're a beginner or otherwise have a poor grip.

4. Lower your hips so that your thighs are parallel to the floor. As you lower your hips, be sure to keep the lower part of your legs mostly vertical. You're going to stick your butt out quite a bit, so use the weight for leverage to maintain your balance. You want the angle between your foot and your lower leg to be close to 90 degrees.

5. Flatten your back and look straight ahead. Never lose the natural arch of your back. If you're bent over, you're going to hurt your lower back. See Warnings below. Some people use a belt to keep the back stabilized. This may help prevent injury, or it may prevent the development of stabilizer muscles, thus increasing the likelihood of injury as weight is increased. Opinions differ, and this is something to be considered by the individual weightlifter.

6. Lift the bar off the ground by standing up, raising your hips and shoulders at the same rate and maintaining a flat back. The weight should hang with your arms straight. Come to a standing position with upright posture. The bar should just be "hanging" in front of your hips, don't try to lift it any higher. Pull your shoulders back if they are rounded forward. The bar should travel in a vertical path and not arch around your knees.

7. Lower the bar in a controlled manner back to the starting position. Remember to keep the back straight because you're still supporting the weight. Just because you're not pushing up doesn't mean you can't get hurt. Begin the movement to lower the weight by pushing your rear end out as if you are going to sit down in a chair. This will keep the knees back and out of the way of the bar as you lower it down. Keep the head up and do not look at the bar or the ground as you lower the weight. This is a common mistake that leads to injury.

Fat Burning Cardiovascular Exercises

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What is the best form of cardiovascular exercise for my personal training clients? The answer to that question differs depending on the physical goals of the individual client. A general answer to the question is that the ideal form of cardiovascular training is a form which has the most rewards while minimizing the risks.

The treadmill is probably the most popular form of cardio being done at gyms and fitness centers today. If one walks on the treadmill on a flat grade the risk to injury is minimal but in most cases the rewards are minimal. Under these conditions few calories are burned and it is too high impact for the extremely deconditioned or obese. Walking slow on the flat treadmill with no grade has minimal risks for everyone but also few rewards as it does not burn enough calories to signifigantly reduce bodyfat.

There are two ways to increase the efficacy of working on a treadmill, one is by increasing the rate of speed of which the exercise is done at; you can start jogging or running at will. Jogging and running are very potent exercises when it comes to calorie burning but both of them put a great deal stress on the knees and lower back . The unconditioned, injured and seniors should not take up running because it is too hard on the joint, bones and connective tissue. Secondly, treadmill work can be increased in intensity by increasing the degree of grade that is walked at, this becomes the equivalent of walking hills or mountains outside. Incline treadmill walking is an effective calorie and fat burner but it can be problematic for trainees with lower back, knee or foot issues. As you can see the treadmill has its positives and negatives. Using this an your main type of cardio will depend on any limiting factors due to injuries and how much endurance you have.

Stationary cycling is another very common form of cardio being done at gyms today. Stationary cycling has the same pros and cons as riding the bike outside. I believe cycling is most definitely superior to jogging and running because you can burn a lot of calories without the extreme pounding to the knees and back that the body receives from jogging and running. To a lesser degree however a lot of stress to the knees and back can be generated by intense cycling also.

I favor the elliptical machine due it's non-impact nature and large range of motion. you can vary the ramp, resistance and speed to target the largest lower body muscles without straining the spine or joints. It is possible to really turn up the intensity level of your training with minimal risk of injury. In short there is a superior form of cardio and that form is elliptical training.

Warming up for a great workout

2011-08-02T15:49:00.001+08:00

Warming up is a vital component of every workout. In addition to getting us mentally and physically ready for exercise, it provides an opportunity to practice the movements we are going to perform in the coming session whilst hopefully minimising the risk of suffering injury while training.

So, how best to warm up? Assuming you are warming up for a general workout, it makes sense to perform a generalised warm up which gets all the muscles, joints and systems of the body working well to facilitate a good training session. The ingredients of a general warm are

1) The pulse raiser – cardiovascular exercise is used to raise the heart rate and is the part of the warm up that makes you warm! It’s important to make the pulse raiser graduated i.e. increase in intensity over time. By using exercises such as rowers, cross trainers or skipping, in addition to raising the pulse, it is possible to mobilise all the major joints of the body. You should finish your pulse raiser at an RPE or around 5/6 or, in other words, feeling ready to get on with some more strenuous exercise! 5 to 10 minutes spent on this component of warming up is plenty – we want to be warmed up and not worn out after all.

2) Joint mobility – chances are that if you selected the rower, cross trainer or skipping, you’ll have mobilised your major joints already and won’t need to spend any further time getting your joints ready for exercise. If, however, you warmed up using a bike or treadmill, you may well need to mobilise the joints you didn’t move during that exercise. To mobilise a joint, simply take it through its natural range of movement in a controlled fashion, increasing the degree of motion as you feel the joint warming up e.g. shallow knee bends progressing to full squats over 10-15 reps to mobilise the hips and knees or small arm circles progressing to full arm circles to mobilise the shoulders.

3) Flexibility – it’s not uncommon to see people performing static stretches as part of their warm up but, as useful as this type of stretching is, it’s far better to utilise a method of stretching called dynamic stretching in the warm up and leave the static stretches for the cool down. Static stretches tend to cause reduced blood flow through muscles, muscular relaxation, the pulse to slow and reduced body temperature – none of which sound like things we want in a warm up! In comparison, dynamic stretches keep the heart rate and body temperature elevated, “wake up” our muscles, mirror the movements likely to be performed in the workout and also promote joint mobility.