Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Time Off?

This is the time of year I reward myself for all the hard exercising during the year. I always take the week between Christmas and New Year's to skip my exercise sessions.

There is probably many who would disagree with this but I've found it kind of rejuvenates my body and my mind. Actually late in the week I start to miss working out. However, my 6 year old grandson and I are spending some time sled riding so it's fun exercise. In other words, I'm not just sitting in front of the t.v. vegetating.

My wife also got me a Wii and there is some exercise benefits there. Wii is an informative site that talks about the Wii. Again, my grandson and I play that a lot now and we work up quite a sweat.

My point is this is a reward period for myself. It might not work for you but it works for me and gives you something to think about.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Make Your Chin Up Target the Biceps

Chin ups really work out the bicep muscles but here is a technique that will really target them.

When you grab the bar with your palms facing you, about shoulder width apart, your forearms will be at about a 90 degree angle to the bar. The goal here is to keep them that way. In other words, as you start to pull yourself up, do not allow the arms to move. This takes some serious concentration on your part.

The result will be you will most likely not be able to do as many chin ups as normal, but when you finish 3 sets of these, doing as many as possible each set, your arms are going to be pumped!

If you are just beginning to do chin ups, this will be too advanced but mark it down and try it when you get stronger.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Perfect Pull Ups

I make good use of my Perfect Pull Up bar and have found doing Australian pull ups to be very beneficial. I use to do pull ups many moons ago but, like many other exercisers, forgot about them. When I went back I found that, even though I continued to do weight training, I was not really able to do many pull ups anymore.

I started doing the Australian pull ups and greatly increased the number I'm now able to do.

Basically you can do these with this setup or take 2 solid chairs and lay a bar across them. Lay under the bar and grasp the bar with palms facing away from you. Begin pulling yourself up until your chin touches the bar and do as many as you can. Try to work up to 3 or 4 sets.

If you do have the Perfect Pull Ups, when you can no longer do any reps, continue by slowing raising up on your feet and stepping back some and continuing. This really pumps you up. I'll try to make a movie later to show you exactly how to do this however, keep in mind, laying a bar across 2 chairs works very well also.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Triceps on the Exercise Ball

If you have an exercise ball, congratulations! This is one of the best low cost pieces of exercise equipment you can own.

Here is a video I created that will show you how to work your triceps on the exercise ball.

Monday, November 16, 2009

4 Harmful Muscle-Building Myths Uncovered


What guy does not want to build muscle? Very few.

If you’re serious about making a solid commitment to a muscle-building program, you need to be very careful of who you take advice from. Bodybuilding and fitness is literally a multi-billion dollar industry with new websites popping up every single day. Many of the so-called “experts” out there really don’t have a clue of what they’re talking about and are only motivated by pushing expensive pills, powders and “miracle programs” on you that you don’t really need. If you don’t watch your step you may end up falling for some fatal muscle-building pitfalls that will literally destroy your gains and prevent you from ever achieving the impressive, muscular physique you desire. In this article I’m going to expose 4 very common muscle-building myths in order to keep you on the proper path to the mind-blowing muscle and strength gains you deserve.

Myth #1: In order to build muscle, you must achieve a "pump" during your workout. The greater the pump you achieve, the more muscle you will build.

For those of you who are just starting out, a “pump” is the feeling that you get as blood becomes trapped inside the muscle tissue when you train with weights. The muscles will swell up and leave your body feeling bigger, tighter, stronger and more powerful. While a pump does feel fantastic, it has very little, if anything to do with properly stimulating your muscles to grow. A pump is simply the result of increased bloodflow to the muscle tissue and is certainly not indicative of a successful workout. A successful workout should only be gauged by the concept of progression. If you were able to lift more weight or perform more reps than you did in the previous week, then you did your job.

Myth #2: Building muscle will cause you to become slower and less flexible.

This one goes back to the old days when people described bodybuilders as being “muscle bound” and “bulky”. Contrary to what you may think, building a significant amount of lean muscle mass will actually speed you up rather than slow you down. Muscles are responsible for every movement that your body makes, from running to jumping to throwing. The bottom line is that the stronger a muscle is, the more force it can apply. Having stronger, more muscular legs means increased foot speed, just as having stronger and more muscular shoulders means the ability to throw farther. Strong muscles are able muscles, not the other way around.

Myth #3: You must always use perfect, textbook form on all exercises.

While using good form in the gym is always important, obsessing over perfect form is an entirely different matter. If you are always attempting to perform every exercise using flawless, textbook form, you will actually increase your chances of injury and simultaneously decrease the total amount of muscle stimulation you can achieve. Remember, we are not robots! It is very important that you always move naturally when you exercise. This could mean adding a very slight sway in your back when you perform bicep curls, or using a tiny bit of body momentum when executing barbell rows. Loosen yourself up a bit and move the way your body was meant to be moved. Obsessing over perfect form will actually work against you rather than for you.

Myth #4: If you want your muscles to grow you must “feel the burn!”

This is another huge misconception in the gym. The “burning” sensation that results from intense weight training is simply the result of lactic acid (a metabolic waste product) that is secreted inside the muscle tissue as you exercise. Increased levels of lactic acid have nothing to do with muscle growth and may actually slow down your gains rather than speed them up. You can limit lactic acid production by training in a lower rep range of 5-7, rather than the traditional range of 10 and above.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Exercise at Home with Exercise Bands

I put this in basically because this makes a very nice Christmas gift for anyone who is into exercise.

Also there are some exercises you can check out there that you may be able to incorporate into your routine and, if you use a little creativity, you may be able to make adjustments so you can do these exercises without cables if you have none.


Thursday, October 22, 2009

An Exercise Tip

I thought this exercise tip might come in handy for some of you.

I broke my morning workouts up from 3 days a week to 4 days a week. However - the exercise periods are shorter but more intense. What this allows me to do is concentrate more on each exercise to make sure I am utilizing it to the max.

On Monday and Thursday I do pull ups and chin ups, along with hanging leg raises for the abs.

On Tuesday and Friday I do my cables behind the back and that is really intense. I've been able to add an additional cable since breaking the days up. I then finish with Perfect Pushups.

Wednesday is free, as is the weekend. However, I am talking about strength training workouts. I still do my aerobic exercise 3 times a week.

As to weights, on the days I do strength training and find extra energy in the evening, I do some weight training as well.

This will not work for everyone but it works for me.

Monday, October 05, 2009

Push Ups + The Perfect Push Up

Are you incorporating push ups in your exercise routine? If not, you certainly should consider them. I mean they are one of the mainstays in the military so they must have some value, right?

They do. Not only are they an excellent upper body exercise, they also help work your abs and core muscles. You can do them anywhere with no equipment. Move your hands in to focus more on the triceps and move them out to stress the shoulders.

If you can't do push ups, don't worry. Drop down to your knees and do them that way. You will gradually increase your strength and be able to do regular push ups. Actually, one of the things I have found effective is to do as many push ups as I can and then, when I can do no more, I drop to my knees and squeeze out as many more as possible. This is a terrific technique but don't attempt it until you get a little stronger.

I actually use the Perfect Pushup. Now this is not a necessity but I have felt it makes a difference and my favorite way to do my push up is to start this with my palms facing me, then slowly rotate them away from me as I go down. This seems to target the outside of the triceps muscles and that, to me, is excellent as your arms look strong when that muscle is built up.

What it does is allows you to target your arms and shoulders in unique ways that is not possible without it. This is not one of those useless exercise devices - it is well worth the money.

For your convenience I have included a link to the Perfect Pushup but again, I love it but that doesn't mean you need to rush out and buy it. Just add some push ups to your strength training routine and see if it doesn't make a difference.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Shorter Workouts but More Effective. Interested?

First let me say Turbulence Training is not for everyone. Obviously if you are going to do shorter workouts, the intensity is going to have to be increased. Having said that, a shorter, more intense workout is actually more effective.

Let's use an example. If you jog, to switch over to a shorter workout, simply add sprints. Warm up for 5 minutes. Sprint for 20 seconds, then jog to recover. Maybe a minute at first but cut it down to 40 seconds if possible. Do this 8 times, then do your cool down and go home.

Yep - that's it but you will need to work up to that. You better check with a doctor first to be certain you can handle the higher intensity.

This works with more than just running. Head over to Turbulence Training and check it out.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Exercise Using Bands

Working out with bands is extremely effective, not to mention the convenience and low cost. You do need to use high quality bands and I can very highly recommend Bodylastics. Very, very durable and unbeleiveably low cost. I use them along with my chin up bar, dumbbells and exercise ball to get a terrific workout. I actually only do a few dumbbell exercises now since I got the bands.

I'm going to start focusing on these effective ways to workout at home because you can set up a home gym that won't cost you a lot and will pretty much cover all your exercise needs.

Here is a band exercise to get you started.




1) Stand with feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, and at a staggered stance.
2) Step onto middle of tubing with back foot or both feet.
3) Start position: Grasp handles with underhand grip (palms facing forward) with arms hanging down at sides. Elbows should be close to sides.
4) Flex at the elbows and curl handles up to approximately shoulder level. Keep elbows close to sides throughout movement.
5) Return to start position.
6) Remember to keep back and head straight in a neutral position throughout movement. Shoulders should be stabilized by squeezing shoulder blades together slightly - only the elbow joint should be moving.