Advice and Help : Exercise and Diet Advice, Help and Guidance

Ab Routine

Abdominal, Stomach

A group of muscles that often gets neglected in stomach exercise routines are the transverse abdominal muscles, the core muscles that lie below the rectus abdominus. Most abdominal exercises target the rectus abdominus and the vertical abdominal muscles, ignoring the transverse abdominal muscles. Even crunches, the staple of most abdominal workouts, do nothing for the transverse abdominal muscles. These muscles are actually the most important to target, however, as they connect to both the lower back muscles and the rectus abdominus and for a girdle for the entire abdomen. Any routine aimed at flattening the stomach should include the transverse abdominal muscles as a focus. Using the following exercises, you can work out your transverse abdominal muscles and really make progress on that flat tummy. As with any workout routine, be sure to consult a professional before beginning and always warm up properly to avoid injury.

Pelvic Tilts

This stomach exercise requires lying on your back on a flat surface, such as the floor or a bench. Use a mat or towel to cushion your spine. Bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor. Raise your pelvis (and only your pelvis) off the floor, hold momentarily, and then lower it back down. Repeat for an entire set. Maintaining a controlled movement is crucial to this exercise. This will allow you to use your abdominal muscles, rather than your body’s momentum, to do the work on the exercise. Also, be sure to keep your upper body on the floor throughout.

Crunchless Crunch

This first exercise is fairly simple but can also be fairly difficult. Essentially, it involves trying to pull the belly button in towards the spine. This can be tricky, as it involves using muscles which you may not be used to activating. To start, either lie or on your stomach or kneel. You might want to try both ways and see which helps you feel the exercise better. Relax your body as much as possible, then try to use only the lower abdominal muscles to move your belly button toward your spine. Hold for ten seconds. If holding for ten seconds feels easy, hold for a longer period. The goal is to hold the contraction until you either cannot feel it, or you feel other muscles working harder than the transverse abdominus. When you feel this, let the contraction out.

Scissor Kicks

This stomach exercise also requires lying on the floor. Position your hands under your butt, keeping your back pressed against the floor. Slowly raise one leg to a height of about ten inches, then slowly lower it back to the floor. As your lower one leg, raise the other. Repeat this motion for an entire set. Maintaining control throughout is important, not allowing momentum to get the better of you. Your upper body should remain on the floor through the entire move.

Share on Facebook • del.icio.us • Digg it • Furl • ma.gnolia • Google Bookmark
RawSugar • Stumble It! • Sphere It • Spurl • Yahoo MyWeb
Richard Evans Lee • Permalink • Leave a comment • Top↑

Advice for Bigger Triceps

Bodybuilding

Your triceps is 2/3 the size of your arm. Just imagine, your bicep is only 30% while your triceps takes up 60%. So if you are neglecting your triceps, you are neglecting 60% of your arms while working on the minuscule 30% called the biceps. Of course you still need to work on your biceps for that well rounded balanced muscular look.

Furthermore, since your triceps are involved in many other body building exercises such as military presses, bench presses and many other exercises, having strong triceps will help you to lift heavier in those other exercises and thus will be encouraging further muscular growth in other body parts.

Your triceps consist of three main muscle whereas your biceps has only 2, the their respective names begins with “tri” and “bi”. That is another reason why your triceps should be bigger.

Triceps Exercise Form

So you have been training your triceps but do not see good results. It could possibly be due to your movement during your reps where the exercises are not performed to its full range of motion. You see, the mass concentration of tricep muscles is at the top of the arm and therefore you have to stretch your arms beyond what you feel that is natural in order to reach the deep fibers of your triceps muscles.

On top of that your form must be strict with minimum elbow movements when performing triceps exercises like skull crushes and triceps extensions. These exercises reach deep into your triceps muscles when you do it with full range of movement.

Triceps exercises like close grip bench press, diamond pushups and cable pushdowns do not give you that range of movement as the range of these exercises are limited. This is not to say that you don’t do these exercises, just concentrate on them less.

So in order to build big huge triceps, you must feel the pull of your triceps muscles when the weight is at its lowest position before pulling them back.

How to Build a Beautifully Shaped Body

Bodybuilding

Every guy who steps into the gym dreams of achieving that great classical V-shaped upper body that commands respect and attention. Many have trained for months, if not years and yet that V-shaped upper body just isn’t forth coming. Ever wondered why?

Before I show you various ways to achieve that glorious ‘V’, you must also be aware that the ‘V’ shape is also an illusion. If you have a wide thick back with a powerful chest, coupled with boulder-like deltoids, your ‘V’ will show up commandingly because those attributes will make your waist look small and thus accentuating the ‘V’ illusion.

To have a stupendous upper body, you MUST train your lower body. V-shapes will just be an ugly upper body shape if your legs are like bamboo poles. The excellent full body shape is called the X-frame. Just like those super heroes you see in comic books. If you don’t train legs, you are missing out on training the largest muscle mass. When training legs, many other upper body muscles especially the back and abs will be involved. This gives you the most muscle mass trained in one go. And because you are training so many muscles at one go, you secrete tons of growth hormones when you sleep, further enhancing overall muscle development for that perfect X-frame.

Another muscle group many people fail to pay attention to is the back. The back must be trained for thickness as well as width. Many back exercises also develop the rear deltoids and the trapezius which are very important to getting that ‘V’. When your back is thick, you will look powerful and with the width, it will make your waist look narrower, thus making the ‘V’ more pronounced. Do bar-bell row, deadlifts for a thick and powerful back. Chin-ups and push-ups (weighted and doing them in a slow controlled motion) will provide you the width or more commonly called ‘wings’.

Another very obvious V-shape illusion creator are your triceps. But most people pay more attention to the biceps than triceps. Why triceps then? Because your triceps, as the name ‘tri’ suggests, has three ‘heads’ and each ‘head’ must be dealt with when you exercise them. They are also 1/3 bigger than your biceps. By training the triceps hard, your upper arms will grow bigger faster, giving more berth to your upper body and again creating a narrow waistline illusion.

The best illusion-shapers are your deltoids. Your delts have 3 ‘heads’. However, most of the time, I see people only working out the front delts. When you develop your delts well, they will be round and boulder-like, and they make your shoulder wide and strong. Now, close your eyes and have a mental image of yourself with a wide thick back, big strong triceps… now, do you see that ‘V’? Add lateral raise, bent-over lat-raisers and upright rows to your routine.

How to have a beautiful ‘V’ if your abs are flabby? Forget the side crunches and side bends. It will only make your waistline thicker. Go on a lose fat program by combining weight lifting, cardio exercises and eating correctly. Your abs will show in no time.

Chest Exercises

Weightlifting

The chest area is one of the easiest muscle groups for beginning bodybuilders to strengthen and develop. It consists of a large muscle (pectoralis major) to either side of the breastbone and a smaller muscle (pectoralis minor) underneath. The pecs are relatively easy to develop in the early stages simply because they can be trained intensively although care needs to be taken to work them from different angles to ensure full development.

For beginners, three safe but effective exercises are recommended:

1. Incline dumbbell press - 3 sets of 10-15 reps. When you feel comfortable with the mechanics involved in this exercise you can move on to using a barbell instead, remembering to maintain proper form.

2. Incline dumbbell flyes - 3 sets of 10-15 reps. Done properly, this exercise is good for inner and outer pecs.

3. Push-ups - 3 sets of 10-15 reps. Keep your body straight from head to knees and lower your body until your arms form right angles. Done properly, the old fashioned push-up still offers benefits to the chest muscles.

As with all exercises you need to take care in scheduling specific body parts. To begin with you should incorporate your chest exercises into a program similar to the one suggested below:

Day 1: Biceps, Back, Abs

Day 2: Hamstrings, Shoulders, Abs

Day 3: Quads, Forearms, Calves

Day 4: Triceps, Chest, Abs

For the first couple of weeks complete one set but then add one set each week to a maximum of three. At the end of three months you will be ready to move on to more intensive intermediate level exercises.

Workout Variations

Bodybuilding, Weightlifting

There are many ways that you can strategically modify your training variables to assure that you maximize your fat loss and/or muscle building response to exercise. Most people only think about changing their sets and reps performed, if they even think about changing their routine at all. However, other variables that can dramatically affect your results are changing the order of exercises (sequence), exercise grouping (super-setting, circuit training, tri-sets, etc.), exercise type (multi-joint or single joint, free-weight or machine based), the number of exercises per workout, the amount of resistance, the time under tension, the base of stability (standing, seated, on stability ball, one-legged, etc.), the volume of work (sets x reps x distance moved), rest periods between sets, repetition speed, range of motion, exercise angle (inclined, flat, declined, bent over, upright, etc), training duration per workout, and training frequency per week. Sounds like a lot of different training aspects to consider in order to obtain the best results from your workouts, doesn’t it? Well, that’s where a knowledgeable personal trainer can make sense of all of this for you to make sure that your training doesn’t get stale. Below are a few examples to get your mind working to come up with more creative and result producing workouts.

Most people stick to workouts where they do something along the lines of 3 sets of 10-12 reps per exercise, with 2-3 minutes rest between sets. Booooorrrrring! Here are a few examples of different methods to spice up your routine.

Try 10 sets of 3, with only 20 seconds rest between sets.
Try using a moderately heavy weight and complete 6 sets of 6 reps, doing a 3 minute treadmill sprint between each weight lifting set.
Try using a near maximum weight and do 10 sets of 1 rep, with 30 seconds rest between sets.
Try using a lighter than normal weight and do 1 set of 50 reps for each exercise
Try a workout based on only one full body exercise, such as barbell clean & presses or dumbbell squat & presses, and do nothing but that exercise for an intense 20 minutes. With this example, you could try sets of 5 reps at a moderately heavy weight every 2 minutes until you reach 20 minutes.
Try a workout based on all bodyweight exercises such as pushups, pull-ups, chin-ups, dips, bodyweight squats, lunges, step-ups, etc.
Try a circuit of 12 different exercises covering the entire body without any rest between exercises.
Try that same 12 exercise circuit on your subsequent workout, but do the entire circuit in the reverse order.
Try your usual exercises at a faster repetition speed on one workout and then at a super-slow speed on your next workout.
Try completing five 30 minute workouts one week, followed by three 1-hr workouts the next week.
Try doing drop sets of all of your exercises, where you drop the weight between each set and keep doing repetitions without any rest until complete muscular fatigue (usually about 5-6 sets in a row).

There are many more ways to continue to change your training variables. I hope this article gave you some ideas on methods for you to take your body to the next level. Keep in mind that no matter what style of training you are using at any given time, progression on subsequent workouts should be your goal. Work hard and train smart and watch your body change!

Anabolic Snack

Bodybuilding

1/2 cup butter
1 cup apple juice concentrates (the frozen kind)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 whole eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup raw wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pecans
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped dates

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees; blend the butter, eggs, apple juice
And vanilla together, sift together with flour, wheat germ, baking soda and baking powder then add them to mixture.
Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well and press into an oblong glass pan than you have buttered and floured, now bake until the top is golden brown-about 30 minutes, refrigerate to keep fresh
You will get 12 bars out of these and each one gives you
561 calories 30 grams of fat, carbohydrates 51 grams, 12 grams of protein…

Exercise Resistance Bands

Exercise, Weightlifting

Most of us have owned Chest Expanders/Bullworkers with steel springs at one time or another and had great results from them. Then one day we go to the gym and see everyone working out with iron and think “that is the ‘only’ way to do it”.

Nowadays you can get chest expanders with rubber strands instead of steel. These have fewer disadvantages (i.e. pinched chest hairs) and are lighter.

Many of the old time strongmen performed feats of strength and set records for strand pulling.

Exercising with traditional weights, the resistance is the same throughout the exercise but, with springs and strands the resistance increases as it stretches.

This will work the muscles in a totally different way, starting with very low resistance and increasing as you get to your strongest point.

Want To Add A New Twist?

How about a few sets of slow motion exercises. These can be done with iron or strands.

You will need to reduce your regular resistance by at least 30%. Now do the exercise in slow motion so that it takes 10 seconds to lift the weight and 5 to lower it again. Aim for 3 sets of 8 reps, each to total failure.

When I say total failure I mean it. If you can finish a rep it is not total failure. Total failure is when you get part way through a rep and can not go any further. At failure point do not just stop, try for 4 seconds more to move the resistance before slowly lowering back to starting point.

If you can complete 3 sets of 8 reps then it is time to increase the resistance by 10%. If you can not complete the first set of eight in slow motion educe the weight so you can do at least 2 of the 3 sets for eight reps.

Do the exercise in perfect form without using any other cheating moves, if you do a curl, just use your biceps, not your hips or back.

You can perform many exercises with a set of strands and keep in shape when you can not get out to the gym.

With a little imagination you can do a variety of exercises in addition to the standard chest pulls.

You can put one foot in one of the handles to do one arm curls or upright rowing.

You can hold a handle behind your back and do overhead presses or tricep extensions.

Hold a handle by your abs to do lateral side raises.

Now There Is A New Kid On The Block And The Name Is Exercise Resistance Bands.

Exercise Resistance Bands are different sized rubber strands of varying resistance and you can exercise each body part with any resistance.

They come with, a door anchor that can be used on most doors at any height, 2 hand grips and 2 ankle straps.

With a little thought you can emulate any exercise you can do in the gym (and a few you can’t). The Exercise Resistance Bands website shows 140 different exercises.

What about the times when you cant get to the gym? Exercise Resistance Bands are light at less than 2 pounds weight and can easily be packed in your hand luggage when traveling.

Exercise Resistance Bands absolutely works. After only a few short weeks of using Exercise Resistance Bands you will discover improvements in muscle building, toning, posture and confidence.

As with any new program it is recommended that you start slowly and build up gradually as you gain experience. Even Arnold had to start with low weights and learn from more experienced bodybuilders.

This article is provided as entertainment and no responsibility can be taken for loss or injuries incurred during physical exercise. If you have not undertaken any form of exercise for a while, please consult your doctor before starting any new exercise program.

Fitness is not a competition with anyone else. It is just for you, so find what you enjoy and go have some fun.

Weight Loss Advice

Fat Loss, Dieting

Weight loss suggestions which are little known can give you an edge you would not otherwise have. Many people find it difficult to lose weight safely and consistently, but it is not that hard if you know exactly what to do. There are many techniques and little known Advices you can employ which will ease the process, and speed it up. Here in this article you will find some very effective weight loss Advices.

Weight Loss Advice 1
Keep a record of your progress. Some weight loss suggestions we don’t want to use are the ones which are self inflicted. We can often defeat ourselves by being dishonest about our calorie intake, or missed exercise because we were too busy, and this can largely be avoided by keeping a weight graph. It is easy to use squared or graph paper to plot the results of your progress, or lack of it. Make sure you weigh yourself consistently, wearing the same clothes, at a set time every day. When the graph is joined together to form a line, you will have visual evidence of your progress.

Weight Loss Advice 2
Keep a record of the food you eat. So many people kid themselves by choosing not to remember all of the times they gave in to temptation and ate something they shouldn’t. Then, they feign surprise at their lack of progress on the scales. Make a written record of everything you eat, and keep it accurate and comprehensive. Make a note of how much you eat, and when you eat it, as the body can burn calories at different rates at different times of day. Try to note down exact numbers of calories if you can. The weight loss graph and diary will allow you to analyse for yourself what is producing results and what is not.

Weight Loss Advice 3
Get rid of junk food. Junk food, or as some call it “fast” food, is riddled with empty, useless calories. Even eating this once a week will put a severe brake on your progress, as one meal of burger, fries and sugar laden drink can contain the same calories as you would get from three healthy meals. There is no way you can expect to lose weight by taking in an extra day’s worth of calories every week, so the junk food should be cut out completely.

Weight Loss Advice 4
Set yourself a goal. It doesn’t matter if the goal is modest, as some people only need to lose a small amount of weight. If you have a serious problem with obesity, as so many Americans sadly do, then do some research and find out what your optimum body weight should be. Even though that target may be a long way off, it will be achievable with solid, consistent effort. Everything is easier when there is a clear destination, and when a large goal is broken down into smaller ones.

You can use some simple but effective weight loss suggestions to reach your target so much more easily. Take note of these weight loss Advices, because they will give you renewed hope, and a belief you can succeed. Click the links below to discover some more important weight loss advice.

Six Pack Abs FAQ

Exercise

1. You Can’t Spot-Reduce

This means that you can’t burn fat only from a specific spot on your body. All the sit-ups in the world will not burn the fat on your gut. Bodyfat is lost from all over your body and is caused by a caloric deficit, not from activating a certain muscle group.

2. Cardio is Important

The key to getting a 6-pack is not in building up the abdominals, but in burning the fat that is covering them. The way to achieve this is is to have a caloric deficit, which can be achieved by both taking in less calories and using up more calories. A form of cardio that is very effective for burning fat and boosting your metabolism is HIIT. HIIT is exercising in short bursts of intense cardio followed by a short cooldown. An example of a session would be a 30 second run, followed by a 30 second jog, followed by another sprint, and so on for 4 to 15 minutes depending on the fitness of person.

3. Abs are made in the kitchen

This is the least complex and yet the most difficult aspect in getting a 6-pack. The key to getting a 6-pack is to cut down on food and lose bodyfat. Here are some easily applicable tips:

* Stop drinking soda and start to drink only water. It can make a huge difference.

* Eat 5-6 small meals a day. This helps boost your metabolism and keeps your appetite in check.

* Try to find your calorie maintenance level and gradually decrease 100-200 calories per week until your are shedding about 1-2 pounds a week.

4. Sit-ups are useless

Sit-ups are supposed to target the abs but really the hip flexors and spinal erectors are doing the work in the movement. The abdominals are only used isometrically as stabilizers. This means that sit-ups are terrible for your back and do not benefit your abs anyway.

5. Other Exercises To Do

Now this would be the time for me to plug some new life-changing product or idea, but that is not the point of this article. Here are some ab exercises for beginners to do instead of the traditional sit-up:

* Crunches - There are many different types, but try to think of it as pulling your bottom rib directly to your hip

* Weighted crunches - Do normal crunches except hold a plate to your chest

* Hanging leg raises - hang from a bar and pull your knees directly to your chest

6. Don’t Give Up!

While achieving your goal of a 6-pack may not be as painless and easy as infomercials may have you think, it is still a very realistic goal even for a beginner. All it takes hard work and determination. Giving up a week after you started will not help you get a six pack or help your your overall fitness.

Six Pack Abs Help

Exercise

Everyone in this green earth would love to have six pack abs and be fully healthy. Can everyone archive this goal? Yes. We people where created for excellence so yes, anything is possible. Although some may find it difficult to reach personal goals, anything is possible if you have an optimistic and positive outlook on life.

“Life is not fair” We can begin our day very positive, but by the end of the day if you are not fully focused of your objective and constantly thinking of your aspirations you can be a victim of procrastination. We as humans tend to enjoy the path of least resistance. Justifying our excuses and having procrastinations of our objectives. Nobody said that being discipline was easy. As a matter of fact here are some examples of things we tell ourselves unconsciously that keeps us from hitting our goals: “I would love to workout, but I don’t want to be sore for tomorrow’s barbeque.”, “I will have a free day this weekend therefore I will stuff my face with cookies and milk.”, “I love the gym, I just don’t have time to go anymore.”

The interesting thing is that we make ourselves believe such things. When in reality it is just bogus. The secret to success is not overworking but being in control of your thinking and outlooks in life. Whether you are looking to lose a few pounds or get in shape for bodybuilding competition, please under any circumstances don’t let yourselves of any excuses. Here are some helpful mindsets that will help when you get back on track when you feel you are buying your excuses:

One: Always tell your friends and family about your goals. Telling your acquaintances about your goals is great. Some will take you serious and some won’t. But the reasoning behind this is that they can help you be on track. When you are genuine with people they respect that, and sometimes are willing to help you out.

Two: Setting goals with a partner or friend. Often times having a workout partner or a dieting parter will make things better for everyone. Besides a little competition, a little encouragement from a workout buddy makes a huge difference. Pick someone that you enjoy being with and someone that you know will help you when you feel a bit down on your self. Friends are incredible at picking one up and making us feel great.

Three: Writing down your aspirations and visions. Get a notepad right this moment, and jock down all of your goals and aspirations. On a piece of paper make a line down the middle. In one side have your “goals” and the other have “aspirations” example. Goal #1 Lose 10 pounds this month. Aspiration #1 Lose 10 pounds so I can buy a new pair of jeans, and so on. Make sure they are in detail and also try to make them very personable. Soon you wil develop these mental changes that will change your life forever subconsciously. Also Take note of the times you are at your lowest in energy and pull out your sheet and read those to you out loud. Might sound kind of weird but it works. Professional athletes do it everyday. Why not you?

Getting in top shape is harder than it looks. It takes discipline and full commitment. Its rewards are priceless and the amount of confidence you get when you are watched or check out is amazing. Or even if you simply just want to live an incredible healthy lifestyle and carrying on that mindset to your family and kids, is absolutely worth it. Stay focused, stay in the fight and we will see you in the beaches of the world sporting your ripped abs.

Read More : Earlier Posts

Advice and Help

Exercise and Diet Advice, Help and Guidance

Ab Routine

Abdominal, Stomach

Advice for Bigger Triceps

Bodybuilding

How to Build a Beautifully Shaped Body

Bodybuilding

Chest Exercises

Weightlifting

Workout Variations

Bodybuilding, Weightlifting

Anabolic Snack

Bodybuilding

Exercise Resistance Bands

Exercise, Weightlifting

Weight Loss Advice

Fat Loss, Dieting

Six Pack Abs FAQ

Exercise

Six Pack Abs Help

Exercise

Comments

Earlier

Categories

Search

Bookmark Advice and Help