Posts Tagged ‘exercise’
Get Fit From Home!
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Things Around The House
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Don’t feel that just because you don’t have any weights at home, that you can’t get a GREAT workout! Try using these items for the corresponding exercises. Change them around
Loss Involves Change – The Transformative Power of Loss and Change
There are many experiences in life, which remind us that change is an inevitable part of living. We then have to choose to either to resist this process or look for new ways of finding meaning in our lives. Losing a loved one to homicide, for example, is one of those changes that throw our lives into chaos and disarray. We are forced to see our world very differently, knowing that things will never be the same again. Our loss involves substantial change in every aspect of our lives.
There are many experiences of change which also involve loss, although they are not as extreme and tragic as losing a loved one to murder. However, these changes also involve loss as they challenge our very sense of stability and safety in the world. I would like to share a personal story of personal change, which challenged my way of looking at the world. It reminded me that all change involves loss and all loss involves change. It forced me to look at what writers and philosophers called Existential Angst ? the anxiety associated with the reality of our own death and finitude.
I was offered the opportunity to join my partner and live in Australia. I am from the UK and although I had worked abroad extensively (although not lived abroad), I thought this process was going to be easy. Alas, the practicalities were relatively easy ? the emotional and existential anxieties were the ones that took my energies.
I could not have estimated the enormity of excitement, change, endings, anxiety and changing sense of self I would and continue to experience. This coloured my sense of self and identity. I experienced change on all fronts ? country, home, work, study, community, finances, access to friends, familiarity with what is known and most important a changing sense of identity, belonging and safety. Despite the excitement and opportunity to live abroad, it caused me to question ‘who am I?’ and highlighted the changing nature of me and the finiteness of everything. This may sound dramatic but I was not a young girl exploring the world but a woman in her 40s who was making a major life change.
How easy it would have been for me to dismiss this process and be caught up in the practicalities brought about by this change? Shortly before leaving the UK, I wrote down a particular experience I had had following terminating my work of nine years. This change, whilst in practical terms, was highly manageable, tapped into a whole range of emotions related to grief and loss. Writing down this experience immediately after it happened gave me the opportunity to consider moving country as a potent existential experience. The following is the experience ? exactly as I wrote it at the time.
” How can I explain what it is like preparing to go and live in another country? Once the decision is made, one is often preoccupied with the practicalities of the move. However, the reality of beginnings and endings is brought sharply into focus and if one takes time to reflect on the process, you can learn something very fundamental about the process of living.
The multitude of beginnings and endings I have been faced with over the past two months leads me to ask the question ‘Is this what it is like when you are preparing to die?’ That may sound dramatic but the last time I experienced such intensity of emotion on a daily, sometimes-hourly basis was when my mother died of cancer. The enormity of beginnings and endings, attachment and loss, sadness and joy, fear and celebration is experienced at one and the same time. In moving to another country, there is a feeling that something very radical is happening and you are forced to reflect on every encounter meaningfully, wanting to evaluate it and tie all lose ends ? practical and emotional. There is also a sense that you will never pass this way again. Perhaps an example of how this is happening to me will help.
This evening I finished working with my company and felt very churned up ? not with the actual work but the realisation of the end of an era of all the things that have happened over the nine years since I had been there. I felt quite alone in the process when I got on the train but unexpectedly bumped into a colleague and friend with whom I worked with on the first day with this company ? funny that I should also see him on the last one as well.
We had a drink together and trying to capture now what that was about is very difficult. At one level it was about ‘Congratulations mate, good luck in Australia, great working with you’ ? in another it reminded me of the role of things like leaving parties, funerals and memorials. What we are trying to capture in that brief time is something very important about being human ? as I said cheerio at the station, the shake of the hand, the quick embrace and words like ‘It’s been fun ? thanks for all your support over the years’ really did little justice to what was present in that encounter.
In that encounter, I was reminded of the phrase ‘I am all the ages I have ever been’. It tapped into a whole range of memories, dreams, expectations and sensations ? in that nine years, I have seen him face constant rejections from job applications (not important maybe in themselves but big in terms of self esteem and changing identity ? he is 50s and was often tuned down for the younger version).
Then him losing both his parents and me losing my mother ? the role of work providing a structure to cope and a respite from the intensity of emotional experience felt with people one is much closer to; my break with a partner and whilst not giving him any details, him knowing I was going through a bad time and perhaps taking a bit more of the workload; both becoming self-employed and working in the Middle East; me feeling really anxious the first time I sat alone in a hotel in Dubai just about to train a group of managers realising I had left one crucial part of a case study at home and my credibility was just about to crumble as this all felt apart as the purpose of the exercise was lost ? ringing him at 3.00am and him faxing over the missing piece ? real support, friendship and awareness of the anxiety of running a programme like that, feeling vulnerable in terms of my ability, etc etc, etc.
What am I trying to capture in reflecting on this encounter? The experience of this encounter and others like funerals has more significance than the moments spent together at a certain juncture. The encounter taps into all the experiences, expectations, losses, feelings etc that you experience (not just between the two people in the encounter) but which we ourselves experience whilst ‘in relation’ to them full stop ? to which they are not a part of or even aware of.
I think the intensity of the moment is about sharing something really important about being human ? the people we encounter on the way are important because ‘they go part of the journey with us’ and any sense of loss is not just to do with them, it is to do with the loss of all the other things going on our lives which they are not aware of or even a part of. This comes sharply into focus as I prepare to leave my country and face many such goodbyes on a daily basis.
In writing this before my departure to Australia, I am reminded that I am creating my reality as I speak. Being ‘All the ages I have ever been’ is not only experienced now ‘looking back’ on when I was younger but looking at what I will be as I get older. At some time in Australia I will be in lots of new encounters and be reminded of this meeting with my colleague one month before I left the UK. The loss associated with the change is the realization of the finiteness of everything and ultimately myself and my non-being”
My time in Australia has meant lots of new encounters with the people and experiences here who are now part of me. I have worked in Australia as a counsellor with clients suffering from serious injuries as well as victims of homicide. Serious physical injury dramatically changes a person’s life as they are forced to face a world where they are no longer able to be and do the things they valued. It calls for a total re-evaluation of their lives as they live with an altered sense of self or chronic, unrelenting pain. My work as a grief counsellor offered me encounters with victims of homicide who lost friends and loved ones to murder. I am very humbled by the stories I hear and the ways in which people struggle to make sense on their lives. Each of those people or experiences are now part of me. So all change involves loss and all loss involves change. However hard the physical loss of loved ones is, they are still part of us and of others. This is how they live on and how we are all bound by a universal process called life.
Clare Mann is a psychologist and existential psychotherapist who runs a private practice in Sydney, Australia. She is author of the “Myths of Life and The Choices We Have” an Existential Philosophy based self-help book. (http://www.lifemyths.com/
Exercise Fun
Do you consider exercise fun? Everyone wants to be fit and look good but what separates those that stick with it from the ones who call it quits within a month?
If you think of exercise as fun or an enjoyable experience you are more likely to make a commitment to make exercise a habit. People who exercise regularly also know the health benefits of being fit and that becomes a big motivating factor.
Exercise is what you perceive it to be and if you think of it as boring and a chore you won’t stick with it. But if you consider exercise fun, you can come up with lots of creative ways to make it something you look forward to each day and it will become a habit.
Here are some things to consider to help get you started:
1. Choose activities you enjoy. (example: swimming, walking, dancing or aerobics classes)
2. Exercise with a friend, it is always more fun to have an exercise buddy.
3. Vary the activities. Walk one day and swim the next, it will help eliminate the boredom.
4. Make regular exercise fun by listening to music or even singing out loud.
Exercise comes in many forms. Dancing is a wonderful way to exercise. Tangos, waltzes, and foxtrots are all good forms of exercise and will help burn calories.
Take your children for a walk through the zoo or learn to play tennis. Take swimming classes or just go shopping with a friend. These are all good forms of exercise and will help get you moving. Remember the best exercise is something that you will continue to do.
You don’t have to go to the gym and workout to get exercise. And don’t think of exercise as boring and inconvenient. Enjoy fun activities and reap the benefits of a regular exercise routine.
Close your eyes and picture yourself looking great. Just knowing that exercise makes you feel better physically, emotionally and mentally should help to keep you motivated.
Exercise usually has a perpetual position at the bottom of your to-do list. You know you should do it and you would be better off if you did it but some of us just hate to exercise.
Next time you find yourself in this position, turn things around and think of it as a fun way to look and feel healthier. Exercise fun is all a state of mind so smile, relax and reap the rewards.
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Budget the Luxuries First!
Strictly speaking, his advice was preceded by another Heinlein maxim as well. “Sovereign ingredient for a happy marriage: Pay cash or do without. Interest charges not only eat up a household budget; awareness of debt eats up domestic felicity.” Today, that advice gets abused eight ways to Sunday, as the average household is currently carrying credit card debt to the tune of over $10,000. Assuming an interest rate of 18%, this works out to about 150 bucks a month going to the credit card company. That’s money NOT available for things like fresh flowers on your desk… new skis… upgrading to gourmet coffees and wines for daily consumption, or dinner out (including tips and babysitter).
Luxury item #1: Get out of consumer debt
Being debt-free is an incredible luxury! There are a ton of books and articles out there already on how to budget and avoid debt, so I won’t hold forth on how to do it. The important issue is WHY to do it. And the answer is simple. Peace of mind is the ultimate luxury!
Luxury item #2: Make some time to make a wish list!
While putting the wheels in motion on reducing debt, there’s a happier issue to think through as well: What is it you really want out of life? Peace of mind (and of household) starts with asking these Really Big Questions!
More importantly (assuming you actually care about your relationship), what is it your partner craves? If you don’t know, well… it can be fun finding out. Too many financial planning exercises are painful, which is why not enough people do them. This exercise, finding out what really matters to you both, isn’t.
What are the things in life that really feel like luxury to you? Now is the time to identify them, and separate out the smaller, less satisfying things you’re paying for that keep you from getting what you really want.
To keep to the spirit of fun, I’ve found it’s useful to agree to some simple ground rules:
- Make some unbroken wish list time for the two of you
- There are no such things as ’silly ideas’ or ‘waste of money’ items during the wish list time (that will come later on during a reality-check period)
- No impulse spending during the wish list time! Window shop if you want, share a seat in front of the computer if you’re looking online… my preference is to go hang out in antique markets and bohemian shopping districts for ideas, but you might prefer to go visit a travel agent’s office or web site. It DOESN’T matter!
- Each partner gets equal time to show off their ideas if they want it.
Being realistic, there will, of course, be a price tag associated with the wish list. Also being realistic, not all luxuries cost an arm and a leg, either. If you have the iron will to make a strict budget and do without so that you can go hang out in Tuscany for a month next fall, good for you (and yours!) If you’re like me, though, it may make sense to make do with lesser luxuries.
Luxury item #3: Keep looking until you find reasonably-priced luxuries that really make your life more worth living, then revel in them!
That’s all it takes. If you get this far, you’ve done a few extremely healthy things. For starters, you’ve actually talked to your sweetie about money, without it being a crisis! You’ve spent some time dreaming together. You’ve examined your debt and thought about what it’s costing you. And with any luck, you’ve found at least one thing you can enjoy without feeling guilty about what it’s costing you… because it’s an investment in your piece of mind.
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About The Author
© Andy White, budget guy for Coudy Coffee – because life is too short for mediocre coffee. For gourmet coffee and espresso; coffee gifts, information and resources, visit http://www.coudycoffee.com.
How to Unleash Your True Golf Potential (Part 1)
Time and time again we see today’s golfers out on the driving range trying to better their game. Whether it’s working their short game or driving the long ball, hours upon hours are spent on trying to master proper technique in order to take strokes off their game. What most golfers are unaware of is that the proper technique they are striving for is often hampered by something call muscle imbalance. Muscle imbalances are postural deficiencies that will cause faulty movement patterns, discomfort or even pain during activities such as a golf swing.
Muscle imbalances can be caused by many other factors besides golf, for example sedentary lifestyle, occupation, and injury just to name a few. Repetitive movements such as a golf swing can cause muscles on one side of the body to tighten while the apposing muscles become weak and lengthened. This will often result in the loss of power and accuracy in a golfers swing. For a golfer to achieve his or her true potential, one must correct these imbalances that are hampering their ability to perform proper technique.
Muscle balance can be achieved through a method of exercise called Corrective Exercise. This type of exercise program focus’ on identifying and correcting both tight (short) muscles and lengthened (weak) muscles through a series of strengthening and flexibility exercises. Achieving muscle balance will result in a strong balanced posture and allow the body to perform at an optimal performance level (increased power and accuracy).
When hiring a fitness professional to improve your golf game ask them if they are experienced on the topic of corrective exercise. A complete evaluation should be performed to identify your areas of need.
In Part 2 of this article, I will discuss the common muscle imbalances associated with the game of golf and the exercise techniques needed to correct them.
For additional information please contact (Craig LePage) craig@ncprecisionfitness.com, or log on to http://www.lakenormanfitness.com
Craig LePage, CSCS, NASM-CPT
Craig is a well-known Fitness Professional in the Charlotte, North Carolina area and is the Director of Precision Fitness Mooresville. He has been helping people reach their fitness and wellness goals for more than 10 years. His credentials include a Bachelors of Science Degree from the University of Bridgeport Connecticut, CSCS credentials from the NSCA and a Personal Training Certification from the NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine). Craig has written for Charlotte, NC area Newspapers, authored his own fitness & nutrition program and is a frequent guest on a Charlotte area radio show that focus’ on health and wellness. He is currently co-authoring a golf specific exercise book (Play Better, Longer ? Golf) and is also working on a book of his own that should be available sometime next year.
Top 10 Most Outrageous Exercises I?ve Ever Seen
In the course of my experience working and training in gyms, I’ve seen people doing some incredibly “interesting” exercises. Unfortunately, it’s usually because these people have not been properly instructed in exercise technique.
Here are some of the top winners. Remember, these are actual exercises that I’ve seen people do. I made the names of the exercises up to match the lunacy of how they look.
DO NOT TRY THESE AT HOME! OR AT THE GYM! OR ANYWHERE!!!
1. Dumbell Hair Combs – Start by holding a dumbell in front of you. Do a front raise with it then whip the dumbell back and over the top of your head like you’re combing your hair with it. Make sure to just miss your skull.
2. Hog-tied Face-Rubs – Lie on your stomach on the floor. Grasp your ankles behind your back and rub your face back and forth on the ground repeatedly. Continue until you’ve had enough.
3. Abdominal Earthquakes – Lie on the floor on your back in the classic start position of a crunch. Now yank as hard as you can on the back of your head up and down and thrash your legs around in the air like you’re fending off starving dogs. This evidently works your abs. You will resemble Jello that has just been dropped on the floor. Your face should be as red as a tomato by the time you’re done.
4. The Arm Wrecker – Do one cheating, momentum-filled rep of an arm exercise with ridiculously heavy weight then swing your arms around as fast as you can in a circle to get blood to the muscle. This technique will either help your arm grow or will smack the person waiting to use the machine/weights next.
5. Pelvic Demolisher – Stand with your fingers interlocked behind your head. Do a pelvic thrust forward and drop your spinal column down and backwards about 6 inches. This exercise is best done in front of a large group of people.
6. Dumbell Doggy Digs – Bend over at the waist so that your back is rounded completely over like an arch. Your legs should be completely straight and locked out. You should look like you are trying hard to touch your toes but not really succeeding. Hold two dumbells down at arms-length. Now spin them round and round repeatedly just off the floor so that you resemble a dog digging a hole.
7. Pec Rockets – Set the pec deck machine with far too much weight for you to handle safely. Make sure you are very sweaty and slippery before attempting this one. First, use your entire bodyweight to get one arm pad up to the front. Then, throw yourself at the other one to get it to the front. Hold them there for a half-second then get shot four feet out across the floor as you squirt from the machine like a greased banana.
8. Rush-Hour Bench Press – This exercise is done on the vertical seated chest press machine that has a foot pedal to help raise the weight to the starting position. Use this pedal at the bottom of every single rep to bounce the weight back up. Your footwork will resemble that of someone in rush-hour traffic going from 0 to 60 to 0 every 3 seconds.
9. Close-Grip, Behind-The-Neck Shoulder Press – Sit in a shoulder press station, gripping the bar overhead with about 6 inches between your hands. Bring the bar down directly behind your head. Be sure to lean forward 45 degrees and round your back over so that your shoulder joints and lower back each get their fair share of trauma.
10. C.P.R. Bench Press – Start by loading your safe maximum bench press weight onto the bar. Now add 20 more pounds just to be safer. Have your spotter lift the bar off the rack for you. Lower it 2 inches on your own power then allow it to drop and cave in your rib cage. Be sure your spotter is a strong deadlifter before attempting this exercise as you will need them to pull the bar off you at the bottom of every rep. When your spotter has pulled the bar off you after the first rep and is trying to put it back on the racks, yell out “I’ve got six more reps!”
Remember that this is just a small sample of things I have actually seen people doing. Please be sure when you do your exercises that you take the time to learn proper form and, if you do see someone performing an exercise that is potentially harmful, tactfully assist them.
For more information about exercise technique and errors, go to http://www.fitstep.com/Library/Exercises/Exercises.htm
About The Author
Nick Nilsson is Vice President of BetterU, Inc., an online exercise, fitness, and personal training company. Check out his latest eBook “The Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of” at http://www.thebestexercises.com or visit http://www.fitstep.com. You can contact him at betteru@fitstep.com or subscribe to BetterU News, his fitness newsletter at betterunews@fitstep.com.
For All Those People Who Struggle With Benefits and Features
For Everyone Who Has Ever Struggled Sorting Out Benefits From Features – “SWAT Them!”
SWAT is not actually an acronym. It is a compaction of the question “so what?”
You see, one of the biggest problems that even experienced copywriters and marketers fall into is being clear on what benefits their product or service actually delivers to their customers.
SWAT provides the solution.
Here is how it works:
- Take a piece of paper. Divide it into columns one headed features and one headed benefits.
- Under the features column list all the features that come to mind.
- Under the benefits column list all the benefits you deliver. (Don’t worry about neatness there will not be a one-to-one correspondence between features and benefits)
- Now, get yourself back in your customers’ mindset. Take each feature in turn and ask yourself “SO WHAT?”
- And keep on asking the question until you can’t think of any sensible, benefit oriented, answer.
- Do this for every feature in your list
- Now go back and repeat the process for every benefit you originally listed
It is pretty certain that the same benefits will occur many times over as you run through this exercise. That’s fine. These are the ultimate benefits you have been looking for. These are the benefits you will ’sell’ to your customer.
An example
I wear a pretty cheap and tacky diver’s watch. Its features include:
- water proof to 50m (that’s about 164 feet)
- accurate to 1 second per year
- tells the time in 2 time zones
- dual analogue and digital display
- shock proof
- stop watch
- back light
- day, month date function
- 5 year battery life
Now for certain prospects this list of features is pretty powerful on its own. Principally young men who like to dazzle their friends with the latest gadgets and gizmos.
But let’s try to figure out some marketable benefits for a wider audience.
“Water proof to 50m”
So what?
You can wear the watch while diving
So what?
You can be sure it is waterproof enough for all day-to-day use
So what?
You can put the watch on and forget it – no matter what you are doing
So what?
Accurate time keeping -anytime, anyplace.
So what?
???
Your thought patterns would obviously be different to mine. But I am now stuck. The question “So What?” doesn’t lead me to another statement. No matter. I am pretty happy with the last couple above. Either of them talks to me of the real benefits the watch could bring.
Now I would need to go away and do the same thing for all of the other features. When I first did this exercise I ended up with over 120 benefits (and this for something that is definitely pretty cheap and tacky). I am not going to do that here again.
The benefits that kept repeating were the go anywhere, do anything, super accurate timekeeping.
I was able to produce 30 plus benefit driven headlines. And I had no difficulty in sorting out the benefits from the features.
And all in a little over an hour.
Seems a pity that I don’t actually sell watches.
About The Author
Keith Longmire is the owner of JKL Business Growth Solutions. JKL specialises in bringing main stream business improvement and marketing solutions into the reach of smaller businesses.
The Dangerous Secret of Extreme Muscle Growth
You’ve decided to join a gym, but you’re not sure the best way to work out, and don’t want to pay for a personal trainer who may not really know what he’s talking about? Already an experienced weight lifter, but aren’t getting the results you want? Read on for the best tips for working out if you have a full gym facility, and the secret to extreme muscle growth.
Before and After
You should always warm up before lifting any weights. This means a light jog or other low-impact activity that will raise your heart rate and raise your core temperature by a few degrees. This should last at least 5 minutes, preferably 10 or more. After this, you should do joint rotations. This is not a stretch, it is preparing the joint for work by encouraging blood flow. Then, do the resistance training. At the end, stretch all of the joints you have worked that day. Studies have shown that stretching before weight training actually reduces the muscle’s capacity, and does not prevent injury as was previously thought. Stretching after the work out will protect the joint and prevent cramping.
After working out you will also need an increased intake of protein because that is what muscles are made of.
Length of Time
The resistance training part of your workout should not last longer than one hour. After a warm up, your body is in an anabolic state, meaning that it is ready to “build up” or repair any damage you do to it by running hard or doing other hard work. However, after 45 minutes or so (again, this varies by individual), your body goes into a catabolic state, meaning that your body is ready to “break down” or eliminate anything that may threaten your survival. Entering a catabolic state is good for breaking down body fat and eliminating lactic acid from your muscles, but other tissues are equally damaged by being in a catabolic state. You should be mostly concerned about your kidneys and your muscle fibers that will be compromised if you continue to push yourself. I repeat: working out for more than one hour will hurt your muscles, not help them.
The Isotonic Workout
Isotonics is a fancy word for what traditional bodybuilders do: contract the muscle in order to move a load. In other words, lifting and lowering weights.
As for the weight training itself, free weights are excellent because they make your body balance while lifting them. However, many people prefer nautilus machines for exactly the same reason: they feel safer not having to balance the weight. I will not give you weights, sets and reps to do, because there are a myriad of sources of routines written by all sorts of experts. I recommend you experiment with various programs, because although all muscles fundamentally work the same, everyone has different levels of hormones, different metabolism, and different levels of comfort. Pick up the latest fitness magazine of your choice for current work outs.
The key to remember when following a routine is this: If you are told to do 10 reps for 3 sets, this means that you should select a weight that allows you to do only 10 in a row, but not 11. You will feel tired at around 6, maybe shake a little at 8, and just pump out the 10th rep with no energy left to do even one more. If you can do 11, then you shouldn’t stop just because your routine says 10. Do the 11th and 12th if you can, knowing that you should be using slightly more weight the next time. At the end of each set, rest for about 2 minutes (unless your workout specifies something else) and then do your next set.
The Eccentric Contraction
Most people who write workout routines emphasize that you lower the weight slower than you raised it. This is partly for safety. But there is a big secret! But before getting to that, let’s back-up a little. Concentric motion is flexing the muscle to SHORTEN it under load, and Eccentric motion is flexing the muscle while LENGTHENING it under load. As your arm moves up in a bicep curl, that is concentric, as your arm moves down, eccentric. Here is the secret: Your muscle can create more power in eccentric motions than in concentric ones. So always lower weights very slowly, to keep the maximum tension while lowering weights!
But we can take that discovery one step further for ultimate results. Skip the concentric motion because it’s holding you back! If you’re only working out with weights that you can lift concentrically, you’re not using the maximum power possible in your muscles.
Warning: the majority of muscle injuries happen during the eccentric phase of motion, and by trying this exercise, you are exposing yourself to risk of injury. So be careful.
You absolutely need a spotter for this, because you will need help to raise the weight. Load a bar with a bit more than you can lift. (If you can do 3 curls with 100 lbs, load the bar with 120 lbs.) With the help of your spotter, raise the bar to the top position of a bicep curl. Both of you will likely have to work a bit at this. Then, as slowly as you can, lower the weight to the normal starting position of the curl, with your bicep at full extension. This should take about 3-5 seconds. If your muscle goes slack or you drop the weight, you’ve put on too much weight. But if you’ve got the right amount, you should feel a burn like never before. After recovering for 2 minutes, you may want to do a second rep/set… aim for 3 if you can, but if your muscle is still burning and feels weak after two minutes, go on to a different muscle group.
And that’s it. One rep per set, 1-3 sets. One controlled eccentric rep will stimulate your muscle to grow more than 3 sets of 10 reps because you’re using the maximum overload possible.
Why? Muscle overload is key to adaptation. When you’re using the absolute peak muscular output, it doesn’t have to last long. And since the peak is only possible during eccentric contractions, only do eccentric contractions.
I feel obliged to repeat the warning: always use a spotter, and only use weights that you can manage. If you are working out for the first time, get used to good form by doing traditional isotonics, and learn how much you can usually lift to determine your baseline. Also, some exercises are more dangerous to do eccentrically because the bar will fall on you if you go slack: bench-press, squats, military press, etc. For those exercises, use a “Smith Machine” where the bar travels on vertical tracks, and you can set safety measures to keep the bar from falling below a certain height.
Hydration
Always remember while doing resistance training that water is your best friend. Drinking water will keep you from dehydrating, will keep your energy high, will encourage your body to cycle water and fluids throughout your body, and keep your joints healthy while exercising. The main cause of muscle cramps is insufficient hydration. For more information on the importance of Water, read the article all about it on my site.
Caution
For the beginner: start easy. Start at your core and move outwards. Work big muscles before small muscles. Fat burning happens most in the largest muscles (legs and back), so encouraging them to grow will give you the fastest fat-loss results. After your first workout, you will be sore. It would be best to avoid going to your full overload potential the first week, to allow your joints time to adjust to your new activity. However, soon you will see growth, and best of all, you’ll see the fat start to melt.
The second-best resistance training (after eccentric contractions) does not even require weights, so you can do it at home without a gym membership. Read my article on the Weightless Workout on my site.
David “Mr. Weightless” McCormick is the founder of Weightless Products, where you can learn to sculpt your body to look like a superhero. In his series of articles, he covers everything every man needs to know to lose weight fast and keep burning fat. There are no banners, no pop-up ads, no need to sign up, all articles are available in full for FREE. Wait Less for Weight Loss, visit the best weight loss program for men today!
Aerobic Training
How to start your aerobic training program:
Consider first setting your goals for sometime in the future; make sure they are realistic. Start easy, be kind to yourself. Many of us start out joining a gym and telling ourselves that now we will train every day! Six out of ten people going to gyms drop out in the first month. That’s a staggering 60% of the people. The numbers are just as high for those that buy exercise equipment and don’t use it. So you need several ingredients, not necessarily in order of importance, but because you want to be successful in your training.
1. Desire or motivation that is from who you are, not to get something.
2. Energy: This means you need to start thinking about eating better. No matter where you are with nutrition you can always improve (see nutrition for details). You need nutrients as well. Vitamins, power foods, high technology nutrition is available; you just need to make the effort. Without good fuel it’s hard to get the energy to train.
3. Set your goals within yourself and make them realistic. Remember, there is no cause and effect so you can’t cause health; you can only live it.
4. Make the time, create a loose schedule with alternatives, if need be.
5. Stick to it. Remember, consistency is more important than intensity.
6. Understand the basics of bio-mechanics, even for walking (posture, the muscles, the stretching, the meditation and imagery) to get the most from your efforts.
7. If you are in a family or a relationship, you need support and encouragement, not grief for leaving them alone so often. Get them to start with you (that’s really tough sometimes). It’s always easier if your partner is doing a similar program with you.
8. If you smoke, start making an effort to cut down, if that’s really what you want to do. If not, it will not make a huge difference so much as your attitude towards it will. Use coltsfoot, an herb you can buy in health food stores and smoke it. It will cleanse your lungs, and help you to get off tobacco. You will find the desire will slowly fade away as you get healthier. We don’t need to harp about it. JUST DO IT! QUIT.
9. If you eat more than a plate at a sitting, just start eating less, and limit snacks to fruit.
10. Maybe it’s some of the food you eat. Cut down on fats, sugar, liquor, canned food, and packaged food full of hidden fats and sugars. I’m sure you already know the stuff that doesn’t really help your body.
11. Eat more of the good stuff: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole foods, grains, etc.
12. Drink more water, read more books, and have more fun in your life. Why not?
Of course there is more, but this would be a great start. Remember that when you work holistically you have a better chance at success. You will be working on several levels of health at the same time.
A few days you make it, then you miss one, and eventually another. I know, and I’m a professional trainer, it happens to me. Life is always changing, that’s the beauty of it. That does not mean we give up; just go with the flow. Set some realistic goals, and know that you will miss some days. Make it up again, and don’t beat yourself up about it.
The majority of people drop out of their health programs primarily because it is very hard to get motivated. There are a few myths about motivation for working out — that knowledge will do it, or maybe we feel guilty because we are overweight — but the key is if you don’t have the energy none of that will matter. It’s really about metabolism. Once you get older if you don’t exercise, your own body will start to think you don’t need the hormones and energy. Basically, it starts to shut down. When you do exercise, it’s hard and your body feels like it’s really stressed. It’s not very pleasant, in fact, it hurts many times when you start to train.
To really increase the energy level and have your body and brain work with you, you need to take the nutrients to get your body working again. The food you eat needs to be better quality with more servings of natural fruits and vegetables. If you are eating junky food there is no way your body will be able to have more energy.
You need to consider antioxidants, vitamins, and some form of growth hormone like DHEA or Deer antler extract which is natural (IGF1 which is a pre-curser to HGH). Take care with Human Growth Hormon always consult your doctor. I personally don’t recomend HGH, because if you take it your body stops producing it, there are alternatives. You can’t take very much of this as it turns to testosterone and so you need to consult a doctor for medical advice. (see my web page for more information about this along with other nutrients). Most doctors don’t recommend very high doses of either of these nutrients, so get professional advice. A small amount can do wonders for the human body. These nutrients increase metabolism, build muscle, and help the body to become anabolic (for building and repair of tissue). This is important: to not be catabolic (destructive down cycle) any longer. If you can use these health products, they are the best.
The research necessary to take the vitamin and nutrient business to its highest level is being done with these products. Your success in a fitness program is dependent on your nutrition program.
The minimum goal for an aerobic activity is five times a week for over thirty minutes each session, and even up to sixty minutes if you are only going to walk. Five times a week, not three times as we have heard. That doesn’t mean it has to be all running or all walking. You can play tennis, golf, and walk briskly, or take a nice walk with the family. Families that train together, stay together. Play ball with the kids, for this to be effective and considered an aerobic activity, you need to do it over a half hour and get your heart rate up about 60 to 70% of your max. By then you start to burn some fat. As you increase this ability to burn some fat your brain says “Hey! This person is active. Let’s improve the metabolism.”
As you exercise you also decrease your appetite so you eat less. This is when your body will start to create more hormones, endorphins, and pain-reducing substances called antefolins, which will help you to feel better. Remember, you have to get over the hump before you feel good from exercise. Then weight is not a big problem and you will slowly and naturally level off to your natural weight. This all helps to reduce your stress as well as helping you to feel more successful and some enhanced self- esteem. Balancing your body this way also helps reduce the risk of heart disease as well as diabetes. It helps you create more of HDL, which is the good cholesterol, and reduces the LDL & VLDL, the bad cholesterol.
A moderate exercise program always helps you sleep better. It enhances the digestion and the lymphatic systems (the cleanser of the body tissues). All this helps your body to work at the ultimate level. Remember, this is going to take time. Diets or any fast way will not last. We know now that when you diet or change anything too drastically your body goes into shock. Then the next time you eat, it holds on to it. You gain all the weight back, your body just needs to know you are not a couch patato.
So it’s best to not focus on the weight. When your body is operating at its optimal level, you will be at your correct weight eventually. It all depends on your body type, anyway. You could still be heavy and be incredibly fit and healthy. Isn’t that the purpose of all this?
A sample schedule for the beginner fitness enthusiast: Note you can replace walk for run- if you have been a runner, if not don’t start running unless you are prepared to find all your sore, and injured places coming to the surface.
Day One.
Take an easy twenty-minute walk at a nice brisk pace. (Walk ten minutes from your starting point and turn around.) Find a nice place to walk, away from lots of cars. If your neighborhood is good place well, great. If not, take the extra time to drive to a park, beach, pasture or the country. No sense huffing and puffing more carbon monoxide. (Living in Los Angeles is like smoking ten cigarettes every hour. Cherniscki). You need to be able to keep up a conversation. If you are in oxygen debt you won’t burn calories as well so take it easy at first. Upon returning, spend about ten or fifteen minutes stretching.
Consistency is more important than intensity. If you don’t do it regularly the brain thinks “well, this body doesn’t need much energy so we can store all these extra calories in the thighs or butt.” But if you start with some regular activity, just everyday stuff can contribute the message to the brain saying “hey we need more energy.” The brain begins to think this body is active and needs to increase the metabolism. Every two hours do something for at least ten minutes is another technique. Then your brain will take you to a higher metabolic level. As you increase your exercise program you will have more byproducts called free radicals. This is more reason for us to work with nutrition as well, because you need to increase the antioxidants to keep the body healthy from the free radicals.
Day Two
Just stretch for ten to fifteen minutes. If you are near water, maybe swim for ten to fifteen minutes. Or do a more easy walk if you are sore.
Day Three
Walk briskly for twenty-five minutes. Stretch for fifteen, or if you have it down, it could only take ten minutes to get a good stretch.
Day Four
Swim and stretch for at least twenty minutes and ten, respectively.
Day Five
You might miss one. . .Or walk maybe longer and easy or hard depending on how you feel.
Day Six
Walk a good deal faster for thirty minutes. If you feel tight walking, stop after you break into a light sweat and stretch for a few minutes. Regarding the legs and gluteus muscles. Then continue, finishing up with a good ten minute stretch.
Day Seven
If you didn’t miss one day, take an easy walk, swim or stretch, maybe do something with family or friends. If you got sore at all during the week, then rest and just stretch or swim. Note: I like to add crunchies to all my workouts, strengthen the abdominals is a good way to trim the belly.
Continue this program until you can walk thirty minutes without losing your breath at all. This can take two weeks for most people and up to four weeks for others. If it takes you longer, stay with twenty-five minutes for two months, and then move into the next level. If within two weeks your body serves you well, you can proceed with the next level.
We will have an easy day and then a hard day for the rest of the training. If you miss an easy day, don’t worry about it.
Continue on the following day with a brisk walk for thirty minutes. Now we will start to burn some fat. From now on, you workouts should last about forty-five minutes. So give yourself an hour to work it into your daily routine, if you don’t feel like training don’t know that you can do something easy.
As you get stronger, your easy days become more like your hard days when you first started. Walking can increase to five times per week within the first few months, depending on your body. You have to listen to it and pay attention. If you can get the advice from a certified personal trainer, please do. It never hurts to have more information. At this level it’s not as critical as it will be when we start the strengthening program using weights, running or strengthening exercises.
Six to Eight Weeks
Most bodies will start to enjoy working out from here on out. After six or eight weeks, start your strength-training program. Once again, listen to your body. If you don’t feel quite ready at six weeks, take eight. What’s the rush? You have your whole life ahead of you. At this point is when I recommend the use of a certified personal trainer.
You can go in either of two directions with this addition to your program, with various levels of intensity depending on your body and your abilities.
If you are able and willing to run for your particular goals, you may now start to run. Start with easy jogging for twenty minutes every other day, and weight training every other day. Running at this time should be at least three days a week, the same for weight training. There is some evidence, however, that we could get by with two days of weight training (solid whole body sessions) and still do okay. Include one day of rest. The day you rest could be a very easy workout, either stretching, swimming or family fun.
For weight training we need to start just as easy. Many of us think that weight training will build large muscles. We see all these big bodybuilders, and although some of us admire the dedication it takes to build that kind of body, it is not necessarily true that weight training builds large muscles. It all depends on how you train, how much you train, and your age as well as the system of training. We know that by stressing any muscle naturally (exercises) or unnaturally (weights) we work with the law of irritation and adaptability to produce the result we want.
Basically, this means the body will adapt to irritation. Adapting can mean for size of muscle as well as for the functioning of the muscle. Adapting also can mean the heart and lungs adapting to more stress and improving the functioning of this system (aerobic conditioning). The irritation could be considered the stress exerted on the body (heart and lungs) by running or walking more and increasing time and duration. Then we consider strength in the muscles by more and more progressive exertion (making the body work progressively harder). This can be achieved by doing more and more pushups or other exercises. Using weight training for increasing strength, as well as burning more calories, we would have to build by lifting more times and more weight.
There is another way to use weight training to develop strength as well as endurance. This system works on the premise that using progressively more weight builds size and strength. Starting with more weight and then progressively reducing the weight with longer repetitions, we build endurance in the muscle instead of bulk. This is a good way to shape the body without building mass.
It’s widely known now that for older women weight or resistance training is beneficial to stave off osteoporosis.
Please note: This section is not to take the place of medical advice. I recommend that you speak to your doctor before undertaking any kind of exercise program, especially weight training. See a professional; it will be a good investment in your body.
see web pages http://www.molinamassage.com or http://www.betterbacksystems.com
Othon Molina Ph.d. c LMT has been involved in the health field as a manual therapist and personal trainer for over thirty five years. He has studied with some of the top doctors and healers of our times. His specialty is treating sports injuries, back problems, and teaching others how to improve their health or athletic competition using nutrition and fitness technologies.
One of his specialties is Kinesiology. He has been a runner all his life, and competed in many triathlons, 5k’s, 10k’s and marathons. Competing at an elite level gave him the experience to help train others. Recently he coached and worked with the female champion of the German team of triathletes.
Some of his clients include: Bob Hope, Jane Seymor, Essam Kashoggy, Jim Nabors, Tony Robbins, Mark Victor Hansen, Carol Burnett, San Francisco Ballet, Allvin Alley Dance troupe, some of the top Olympic and international elite athletes, team doc and new trainer for the German professional triathletes. He also trains massage teams worldwide, as well as health professionals in Hawaii.
Sets And Reps – The High And Low Weight Workout
Big weights! Wicked pump! I always get caught between two minds whenever I hit my workout at the gym. One side of me says to lift heavy to get big and the other says that form should matter more than my weight poundage. This is an issue that used to cause me to get quite twisted every time I would prep a workout training cycle. I know each technique has its merits, so I used to be swayed back and forth never staying with either method long enough to see the results. With the low weights I get to move some decent poundage’s and my ego gets gratified but alas, there is no killer pump. When I stick to the perfect form method with lighter weights I get great pumps but I never feel like I am really working hard enough to get anywhere because my weights are so light. So in my search for the perfect weight workout, I decided to combine the two methods and get the best of both worlds.
Seems obvious when some one else says it doesn’t it? I love the pump from drop sets and isolation exercises and I love the feeling of grunting under large loads, so why not do both in a workout?
What I do is put in two exercises of 5×5 with 1 minute to 2 minutes rest between sets and then move on to one or two more exercises for 3 or 4 sets a piece with the odd drop set or super set in order to finish the workout with a great pump. I stay with the same weight on the 5×5’s until I get all 5 sets of 5, usually hitting 4 or 3 reps on the last two sets in the beginning. When I finally complete the full 5×5 I up the weight by 5 to 10 pounds and start over. This ensures that I don’t get lazy and that I am always getting stronger, so that’s the first rule of muscle mass realized.
Once I have trained the muscles with between 85-100% of my one rep max, I’ve stimulated strength gains through enhanced neural drive and hit my type IIB fibers hard. Now onto the second group of exercises. I squeeze and pump the muscle, trying to fill it with blood while keeping in my mind that weight is a secondary concern. Here is where I hit the type IIA fibers with a slightly higher time under tension developed from the intensity techniques. The weights for this type of training are usually within 70-80% of your one rep max. Whenever I reach the point that the lighter weights no longer fatigue the muscle at around 10-12 reps, I bump it up a notch. Chasing the pump I rest no longer than 30-45 seconds causing me to hit a totally different set of fibers and making sure that all life has been thrashed out of the muscle. The best of both worlds in one workout!
The 5×5 method can also be seen as a lazy mans periodization, as the intensity varies from week to week depending on if I am trying a new weight or if I am still trying to get my “5’s” at an already accustomed to weight. The high intensity at the end allows me to get nutrients and blood into the muscle, gives me my time under tension and stretches the fascia while the body part is still stuffed full of the goods.
So in effect this routine develops the type IIB fibers through high tension multiple sets making me stronger by increasing relative strength though enhanced neural drive. Then moves on to hit the type IIA fibers through a slightly higher time under tension given to me by the extended sets. This makes me larger by increased hypertrophy, stimulating increased muscle glycogen, ATP and Krebs cycle activity. The only variable to fill in after this is your nutrition habits, but that’s a topic for later discussion. Here is an example of this type of weight workout. None of the set totals include your warm ups:
Monday
Chest
DB Bench press 5×5
Dips 5×5
Incline flyes super set with incline smith presses for 3x failure on both. Anything past twelve reps and you should bump up the weight.
Biceps
Barbell curls 5×5
Incline dumbbell curls 10/8/6
Rope pulley hammer curls drop set – 4 sets
Tuesday
Quads
Squats 5×5
Front squats pyramid up 12,10,8,6
Leg extensions 3-drop sets, each drop being 10 reps (10-10-10)
Hams
DB or barbell, stiff leg deadlifts 5×5
Lying Frankenstein curls (toes down on way up and toes out on way down) 4-drop sets, each drop being 8 reps (8-8-8)
Calves
Standing calf raises 3-drop sets of 10-10-10 per set.
Seated calf raises for 4 sets of 40-50 seconds each
Wednesday
Shoulders
Standing presses 5×5
High pulls from the hips 5×5
Face down incline laterals superseted with reverse cable crossovers for rear delts – 4 sets to failure
Triceps
Close grip bench 5×5
Low pulley behind head extensions off bench (Vince Gironda style) 4×8
Superset of kick backs and close grip pushups with elbows wide 3x 10
Thursday
Back
Deadlifts 5×5
Weighted chins 5×5
Drop set low cable rows with under grip for 4 sets
Abs
4 sets of crunches supersetted with hanging leg raises
Take the next two days off and then restart the cycle.
There are several ways to manipulate this schedule depending on your recovery ability and other stress factors in your life. Some of my clients respond best if they drop the second exercise of 5’s or alternate it with a 10/8/6 rep scheme.
For maximum recovery I like to take a day off after every workout, especially if you’re hitting the cardio hard. If this is something you may like to try than you can get away with another exercise per muscle group as you won’t be hitting it again for a while, just watch for signs of over training.
The other popular way to split this workout, fits nicely into the workweek. Split your workout to fall on Mon-Tues-Thurs-Fri. Take the weekends off to recharge.
Don’t worry about wilting away between workouts because as a natural bodybuilder the more rest the better. If you are going the assisted route, then you can add in a set or two extra here and there. It’s far more productive to be slightly under trained than over trained. However if you give every workout your all on this routine, you will look forward to the rest!
Ray Burton is the owner of the Fitness Site and the Fat To Fit email course. Take a look for more great workout information.
