I believe in being well rounded, being big and strong, yet flexible, explosive, agile, and able to easily complete a simple 5k. And everything in my blog will reflect this mentality and help you achieve the optimal body capable of anything and everything. I have my dad who has a masters degree education of Kinesiology to back up my work :) not just some teenager giving workout tips xP I don't claim to be a bodybuilder, i just love working out, exercising, and anything involved with physical activity :D I just want to share my knowledge of physical performance in hope that it helps you :D leave any comments or questions about any subject you'd like me to research, discuss or address :) exercising should be fun, and I would love to make it that way :D so if you want some helpful hints and tips to get the most out of every workout, this is the place for you :D There is no substitution for hard work, but i can help you get the most out of it :)
Now of course, the only way to lose that fat and get that 6 pack is to burn more calories than you take in. You may think its a boring and tedious process of simply running on the treadmill of hours on the stationary cycle.
But there are several options to have a blast with your friends AND burn as much or even MORE calories than tirelessly running on the treadmill. One of my personal favorites is racquetball!!! :D
Now you dont have to be a professional and diving around the court competitively like this guy to burn a lot of calories.
casual play with a group of friends for simply and hour can burn at least 600 calories. This is arguably much more exciting and enjoyable than running on the treadmill, and more interactive and fun for you and your friends :) once you start getting good, playing higher paced racquetball can burn up to 1000 calories and hour!! :D just another fun alternative to earn that 6-pack youre lookin for x)
Important Key Points
A few key points i forget to address in the video, when doing your flies, ensure that your form is comfortable, too far out and you risk injury, too far in and youre not getting a full range of motion and minimizing the effectiveness of the lift. Every lift needs to be comfortable, so experiment and find what feels the best for you.
Gut It Out
However, of course there will be pain and youre going to have to work through it to become bigger and stronger, just be sure its muscle pain and not injury pain, know the difference.
Focus on flexing during lifts
During every single lift, try as hard as you can to focus on contracting the main muscle groups being used, you will feel the muscles working more, and will therefore grow bigger and stronger faster :)
Maximizing results
Grouping chest with back and shoulders is the most effective method of lifting, because you will maximize the effectiveness of each workout when you work with opposites, such as the chest and the back. One group controls a pushing motion, while the other controls pulling. I include the shoulders with chest and back, because they are a main component in chest and back workouts, so its more effective to work them the same day and give them an adequate amount of rest for them to properly heal :)
Have FUN
Just like anything else, have fun with it, when exercising and working out is fun for you, seeing all your progress in size and strength, it gets exciting and you will see results faster and in bigger leaps :) so have fun :D
let me know what you liek and dont like about my workout in the comments :) i appreciate all input, criticism or compliments :) also let me know if my routine works for you :D ENJOY!!! :D
In order to increase strength without gaining muscle weight, you need to find an appropriate weight for each exercise to where you can perform 4-6 reps with excellent form.
as i mentioned in a previous post, i would still recommend including an eccentric set as well as a concentric set in order to develop and maximize the results of both your bodies strength and power.
So for all you wrestlers out there, pack on that weight and bust out low reps, youll see major strength gains, but stay in that same weight class, and be able to overpower those who are similar in weight, but cannot compete with you in strength.
try it out and let me know how it works for you :)
Yes i know, sounds pretty cool xD according to a recent study, drinking low-fat chocolate milk after a workout helps endurance, builds muscle, reduces fat, and seems to improve performance.
Chocolate Milk appears to have an effective combination of carbohydrates and protein to greatly benefit your body's development.
"When recovering from exercise, two things you want to do is replenish sugar stores in the muscle and turn on protein synthesis and stop protein breakdown,"
"The combination of carbohydrate and protein [found in chocolate milk] work synergistically to do those two things," IVY tells WebMD.
i will personally not begin to just drink chocolate milk xD but it sounds pretty effective so if you want to try it out and let me know how it goes thatd be great x)
One of my several workouts for abdominal muscles. If you do use weights, be sure to maintain correct form, form is the basis for maximizing your results from these exercises.
On each exercise, focus on the area youre working and concentrate on tightening those muscles on each rep.
REMEMBER!!:
Crunches- calves parallel, chin up,
Bicycles- shoulder blades up, calves parallel
V Ups- chin to ceiling
follow these guidelines and tips and you will see results in no time :)
Everyone will experience multiple plateaus when working out, either you see little to no improvements on size or strength. Remember my article on periodizing? thats exactly what will help you break through that plateau! your body has become adapted to your current workout and is not as challenged as it was before. change up your exercises, reps, grips, sets, anything to get your body working differently than it was before.
Your plateau could also be from overtraining without enough sleep, or undertraining with too much sleep. You have to know what your bodies feeling, and know how intense your workouts are, and assess the amount of sleep you need for your bodies optimal recovery.
Drop sets at the end of your workout are perfect for pushing your body to the limit and giving it that shock that it needs. at the end of your workout, drop the weight a little and lift until your body can take no more, you should be shaking after the workout. be sure to do this safely and with a spotter tho, the worst thing you can do is push your body to injury, then you have much worse issues than plateaus hindering your growth xP
Spot reducing is the myth that something can allow you to burn fat off of a specific area of your body. THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!! Dont let those BS advertisers sell you those belts that "eat away your belly fat" its simply impossible. How it works is the most recent fat that came on your body is the first to come off once you start burning calories. therefore, your most recent gain of fat will be the first to disappear.
no patches or any other product promising to shave pounds off of a specific area of your body is a scam and will not work so PLEASE do not waste your money on them.
The sad thing is, there are some scientists who believe spot reducing exists, yet they do not factor in that the level of fat also reduces equally throughout the entire body, they merely measured the targeted area. So, yes, burning more calories than you take in will get rid of that belly, but dont waste your money on ANY creams, patches or belts claiming to remove cellulite, belly fat, or any other specific area. The only way to get rid of that is BURNING MORE CALORIES THAN YOU TAKE IN!
Why not get the most out of your pictures? xD Out of all those advertisements, most of them are black and white pics, you know why? you look better in black and white xD Everyone can always make themselves look better in a pic, but its gotta look "photoshooty" and professional xD not awkward as if youre trying to hide something xD heres how to do it x)
Basically, turn down the brightness, turn up the contrast, make it black and white, and sharpen the picture. Then adjust all the effects to your liking x)
The enjoyment level of working out with a friend associates positive aspects to exercising and working out, and, in turn, creates a positive atmosphere and a n activity that both friends can look forward to working out or exercising together, either to show off their progress, or to have some healthy competition, or even just to have fun J
Of course, probably one of the greatest benefits of a workout partner is the motivation. Most, if not all, body builders or professional athletes workout and train with friends or family to help maintain their motivation and dedication to a program or regimen, and it is no different from anyone else; workout with a partner, and you WILL improve your performance J
Different perspectives is also another benefit of the workout buddy system, your partner could see a technical lifting flaw in your form that you cannot view or do not specifically focus on while your lifting. Simply having someone to spot you on correct form will dramatically increase your strength and progress in exercising or lifting.
I personally have seen a major difference when I workout with a partner as well as my friends. For example, a leg workout with Jimmy “The Beast” Musgrave xD normally takes him about an hour and a half and about the same time for me. With the both of us working out, I have lifted the most weight I ever have in a faster period of time than my solo workouts, and the same goes for Jimmy.
So next time you head out to the gym, bring a friend along, it helps both of you work harder and ultimately see better results faster!! :D
There is no substitution for hard work, i know most people dont like to hear it, but it is the absolute truth. There is no magic pill or secret diet or magic belt or easy exercise you can do to get that ripped stomach you want. The bottom line is, the reason you cannot see the muscles is simply fat. The fastest way to get a six pack is run on the treadmill or any kind of cardio to burn the fat from your stomach. Weight training is also a significant factor in getting your six pack because it will add muscle mass to your body, which makes your body burn more calories per day.
THE BASICS:
you MUST burn more calories than you take in!!
to burn 1 pound of PURE FAT, you must burn 3500 more calories than you take in. That's not easy, but with general calorie counting and a little bit of exercise and weight training, youll have a six pack in no time!!! :)
REMEMBER: the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns!
Eccentric lifting (or negative lifts) is merely slowing down the movement on the eccentric portion of a lift, such as during a bench press, you would count to about 5 or 6 as you lower the bar to your chest and explode up. During the eccentric phase of a lift, the muscle becomes more stretched out, there is more stress on the muscle, which ultimately targets more fibers of the muscle. Therefore, it is imperative that you include eccentric lifting in your workouts for one: periodization (as previously mentioned in the blog) and two: increase the benefits of your workouts and build hypertrophy (muscle size) faster and in a larger amount.
by straining more muscle fibers during eccentric lifting, you create more microscopic tears in your muscles, which is how your muscles become stronger and larger.
(I will be posting videos soon of my eccentric workouts to show you an example :))
However, you must also implement concentric lifting (lifting normal speed) in order to periodize your workout as well as improve your explosive power instead of pure strength.
Last tips: you must also focus on properly breathing (exhaling on the lift up and inhaling on the way down) to maximize your muscle development along with full range of motion. You must perform each exercise all the way up and all the way down to receive the full benefits of the workout. Try out the eccentric lifting and I guarantee you will be more sore and see a significant difference in your size and strength :)
I have never had a severe illness of any kind, but when i have a cold working out is the perfect remedy for me. However, directly after your workout or physical activity, your immune system is temporarily vulnerable, so be sure if you do go for a walk or any type of exercise, stay clean and hygienic and dress appropriately for any cold weather or it will just get worse x/working out or exercising primarily circulates antibodies throughout your body faster by increasing your heart rate, which helps you heal faster. Additionally, working out regularly has proven to increase your immune system's antibody production by 300 percent! But worst comes to worst….. just get enough sleep and you dont have to worry about it xD
Recovering after your workouts is as, or even more important than how hard you work out. During the night while you sleep, your body is recovering and repairing the microscopic tears in your muscles to increase hypertrophy (making your muscles bigger). No matter how hard you work out or exercise, if you're not getting at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night, your body is not getting everything it can out of your workouts and exercise during the day.
Steroids merely allow the muscles to heal faster, getting the proper amount of sleep does the same thing, just not as fast xP
The pain and soreness of your muscles is a good sign, it means your muscles are healing and becoming stronger and bigger, those microscopic tears you made during your workout are healing. Getting the proper amount of sleep every night will reduce the amount of soreness and therefore increase the rate of your bodies growth, as well as the effectiveness of your exercises and workouts.
Not only does getting a good amount of sleep help your body recover faster, but it also significantly reduces your chances of becoming sick and having to skip a workout :)
Excellent reference of someone who has experimented with different amounts of sleep. Remember, this does not only apply to bodybuilders!! the exact same concept applies to even marathon runners and anything in between!!! http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dean22.htm
Periodizing your workouts is one of the most important aspects in getting the most out of your workouts. You will see the most results the fastest when you simply just change little alterations to your workout routines. The people who live by single workout and believe nothings better than theirs are the most annoying to me and will not experience the progress that those who periodize will. Several studies have proven that people who periodize their workout gain more than 2 pounds more of lean body fat, lose 2.2% more body fat, and improve their leg press and bench by more than 10 pounds over a period of 12 weeks as compared to those who dont periodize their workouts.
The human body gets used to workouts that it does repetitively in order to naturally increase its efficiency, which is the natural reaction for the human body. Periodizing workouts by simply changing grips, reps or sets, etc. keeps the body on edge and allows it to grow faster and in greater intervals.
Heres one of the many articles concerning the results of periodizing your workout:
