Archive | July, 2016

To Bike Or Not to Bike? Off-Season Training For Hockey

Some fitness coaches who specialize in hockey training insist that hockey players should stay off the ice during the summer months. The advocate a return just in the weeks prior to training camp. Some believe that riding the bike is the best mode of energy system development for hockey players. Others, like me, use a combination of modes to train hockey players who will be fitter, faster and more injury resistant.

The elite level players that I train skate 1-2 times per week. Some of them go to the local power skating guru and work on their skating skill. This is my preference, I do not really want them scrimmaging, I want them skating. For the pro players, we go on the ice twice per week, once for medium duration interval sessions and once for agility and quickness training. The skating is supplemented with land-based agility training, a track or hill workout and yes, even some biking. You may be asking yourself, “What is the difference? As long as they are getting more fit what does it matter if they only bike or not?” To be clear, I am not saying that hockey players should not ride the bike. I have my hockey players ride the bike at times during the summer, just not all the time. And I think it is a great tool to use during the season. Here are a few of the pros and cons of using the bicycle with hockey players:  

PROs   I like biking because you can very easily adjust the resistance. It is relatively safe; no athlete is going to sprain their ankle riding the bike. From a skill perspective, there is a level playing field for different athletes. If you are running at the track, some hockey players have a great running stride whereas some athletes are not nearly as proficient. Finally, the player will get a great leg workout. When we do intervals on the bike they will tell me that their legs feel the same fatigue they feel when they are on the ice.  

CONs   I dislike the bike because it trains the hockey player in a hip flexed, spine flexed position, a position where they already spend a good amount of their time on the ice and sitting on the bench. If they are a student then they spend all day sitting at their desks in a hip flexed, spine flexed position. With these sustained postures we see shortening of the hip flexors among other adaptations. When a player skates she must extend at the hip to get a full powerful stride. If the hip flexor is tight they will not be able to get this range from the hip joint and will likely compensate by either taking short choppy strides or by hyper-extending the lower back. This will reduce their skating performance and may lead to overuse injuries.   

One of the arguments against skating in the off-season is that it lets the player’s groins recover from the use they get when skating. This is used to support the use of the bicycle as a training tool. If you look at someone bicycling you notice that their thighs stay parallel as they pedal, the movement is in the saggital plane. So you can see how this will not put the groins on a stretch the way skating does.   

If I take an athlete who needs to abduct at the hip (which puts stretch on the adductors or groin muscles) to move in their sport and train them in a way that does not put any stretch on those muscles, can you see how they may adaptively shorten in response to the new demands? They are not being repeatedly stretched, so they do not need to be as long and they will shorten. Then if the athlete starts skating everyday, they are now putting those adaptively shortened groin muscles on repeated stretch and risk a strain. Not a great way to start training camp.   

So my argument against riding the bike in the off-season is that it compounds muscle imbalances that already occur in hockey players and undoes some of the adaptive lengthening that is necessary in the adductor (groin) muscles. Both may reduce skating efficiency and contribute to overuse injuries.   

I will finish by saying that there are some amazing fitness coaches out there who specialize in training hockey players, love the stationary bike, use it effectively as a part of their overall hockey training system and produce some very effective players. Clearly they are addressing the muscle imbalances and mobility issues in other areas of their training. My goal is to encourage you to continue thinking about the specific demands of hockey on your athletes and train them systematically with those demands in mind.

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Exercise for Teenagers – 5 Free Exercises You Can Do at Home

The key to staying healthy as a teenager is to engage in a combination of eating right and forming the right exercise habits. This is particularly important since so many teens today are overweight.

For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently published a report containing teen obesity statistics. The report said that 14% of teens in the United States are obese. Translation: 14% of our teens are at elevated risk for high cholesterol, heart disease, high blood pressure, and Type 2 Diabetes.

Apart from these health-related risks to being overweight, these teens tend to have more problems making friends, getting dates, and finding jobs than do their thinner friends. On average, they also suffer from self-image problems and other psychological issues, which can have an effect on the quality of their schoolwork and overall sense of well-being.

The bottom line is: unless an overweight teen gets their weight under control, they are very likely to carry these problems associated with being too heavy well into adulthood – and possibly for the rest of their lives.

If you are looking for good exercises for teenagers, here are 5 free exercises that you can do at home:

1. Work your heart at least 30-60 minutes per day:

Working your heart muscle is known as cardiovascular exercise. While you don’t need to do it all at once, all together you should be getting at least 30-60 minutes of cardio per day. Some free ways to do this include: running, walking, biking, swimming, in-line skating, jumping rope, handball, trampoline, soccer, rowing, Tae Bo, aerobic dancing, and kick-boxing.

2. Improve your balance and flexibility with yoga:

The importance of flexibility and a good sense of balance are an important aspect of a healthy body. Buy a yoga DVD (you can find them used for a few dollars each online) or watch/record/TIVO free yoga shows on TV and watch them frequently. You can do many types of yoga directly on regular carpet. Eventually, you may want to invest in an inexpensive yoga mat. Bonus: many people who do yoga also report feeling more emotionally balanced and centered, as well.

3. Build core strength with butterfly breath:

Here is a specific exercise for building your core strength (i.e., your torso, stomach and back muscles) that you can do anywhere. It’s called “butterfly breath.” Here’s how:

a. Stand up straight with your legs spread hip-width apart, arms lifted straight out at your sides.

b. While breathing out, lift your right knee and touch it to your left elbow.

c. Then, while inhaling, return to position “a”. Switch sides and repeat 12-15 times on each side.

4. Flatten your tummy by doing the bicycle:

A flat, strong tummy is an important mark of the physically-fit. Try the “bicycle” exercise (note: no bicycle required!).

a. Lie out flat on the floor, laying your hands beside your head.

b. Bring up your knees to a forty-five degree angle and slowly act as if you are pedaling a bicycle in mid-air.

c. Touch your left elbow to your right knee, then do the opposite side. Keep an even pace throughout. Do about 1-3 sets of 12-16 repetitions.

5. Work your legs with squats:

Now, it is time to work your legs with squats! This is one of the best lower body exercises you can do because it is a multi-joint exercise that works multiple muscle groups, including your hips, butt, and thighs. This type of squats does not require any weights. Here’s how:

a. Place a chair behind you and stand in front of it, with feet slightly spread apart.

b. Contract your stomach muscles, keeping them tight as you bend your knees and squat down towards the chair.

c. Keep your knees behind or just above (in-line with) your toes as you briefly sit down.

d. Now, slowly stand up out of the chair by tightening your hamstrings and glutes (butt). Fully extend your legs straight again.

e. Do 1-3 sets for 10-15 repetitions.

Try these 5 free exercises you can do at home as you get into the best shape of your life.

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Fasted Workouts for Fat Loss

When it comes to fat loss, nutrition will always be king. You simply can’t out exercise your diet.

However, if your diet is in check you can work out strategically to aid your fat loss efforts.

When it comes to shedding body fat, working out fasted can have some major benefits.

The problem with taking in calories pre-workout is that you are burning those calories for energy instead of your fat stores.

Also when you eat, your body releases insulin which can interfere with your ability to burn fat.

But what about having energy for your workout?

Your body has got you covered (a pun is very much intended).

Your SNS for Energy while Fasted

SNS is short for your sympathetic nervous system. When fasting, your body’s primal survival mechanism is activated. This fight or flight reaction to fasting augments your body’s ability to produce energy, be mentally alert, and to combat stress and fatigue.

With your SNS engaged, your body is in peal energy generating mode, and that energy comes from burning fat.

It’s logical from an evolutionary perspective. As hunter-gatherers, humans needed to be in top performance mode when hunting to catch prey or gather food.

Eating before Training Messes with your SNS

If you were to eat, you would be missing out on your body’s ability to be in this primal functioning state.

Eating activates the counterpart to the SNS, the PSNS (parasympathetic nervous system). The PSNS leads you to feeling more relaxed and lethargic. You will be less immune to stress and fatigue in addition to not getting that extra fat burning boost from being fasted.

This is why I recommend eating lighter during the day and feasting at night (AKA intermittent fasting). The nightly feast should contain most of your carbohydrates which release serotonin to further assist in the relaxation process.

This approach I think, syncs right in line with our hunter-gatherer instincts and allows for more productivity and is socially friendly. It’s nice to have a big dinner with friends and family.

Intense Fasted Training is Possible

I’d say 99% of my workouts are done in the fasted state. I don’t have to worry about vomiting up food in addition to having more energy than my pre-workout meal eating counterparts.

I have made great gains in muscle and strength and continue to do so, all while being fasted.

This approach worked especially well for me when I played competitive sports in high school.

During the rugby matches I would play in a fasted state, having consumed a lot of carbs the night before so my muscles would have all the fuel they’d need.

During the match I felt energized, awake, and focused.

I still do this when I’ll play recreational sports in the morning.

It works smashingly!

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Weight Loss Tips Through Ayurveda

Weight loss is a problem for many. Gaining weight is very easy, but losing weight is a mammoth task. Millions of people suffer from obesity. Obesity or overweight is an unhealthy amount of body fat deposited in our body.

Most people gain overweight due to their poor eating habits and lifestyle, and it occurs unintentionally. Added to it, is the lack of exercises for your body. Lot of books and articles are available today about weight loss. Just reading them is not sufficient. Ayurveda is said to be the world’s oldest healing science. The popularity of ayurveda grows day by day. Some of the lose weight tips are here.

1. Determination and dedication towards losing weight is essential. Many want to reduce weight, but they fail to follow the steps patiently.

2. Eat healthy food. More than quantity of food, priority to be given to the quality of food. Make sure that your diet contains food that is rich in protein, and less in calories.

3. Eat smaller portions at meal times and drink lots of water in the day.

4. Early morning, drink a glass of luke warm water with 1-2 teaspoonful of honey and one spoon of lemon juice.

5. To maintain your weight at a level you want, you must train yourself to burn more calories than

what you consume, through regular exercises. For exercises, go for jogging, or join a gym or yoga class, and be a regular there.

6. As much as possible try to restrain from food which contains high calories. Temptation to eat rich food and sweets to be controlled.

Aurvedic medicines are made based on ancient wisdom that has stood the test of time. It is an overall health system and works towards wellness physically, mentally and spiritually. A healthy lifestyle and regular exercises go a long way to reduce unwanted weight. Yogic Slim is an ayurvedic medicine, containing eight most potent herbal concentrates, for slimming. Read more about this.

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3 "Little-Known" Exercises to Make You As Strong As a Bull on the Wrestling Mat!

If you want to gain a strength advantage over your competition, and don’t have a lot of fancy equipment, don’t worry. Here are 3 tried and true “unique” strength training exercises that can help get you stronger for the mat – FAST!

1. Bottom Squats – Bottom squats are incredible for developing hips and gluteal strength. In layman’s terms, that would be working your rear-end. Ok, have a quick laugh, and then get to work. These are a perfect addition to your wrestling strength training routine. Here’s what you do. With an Olympic barbell, you perform a regular full depth squat. This means you descend until the top of your thighs break parallel with the floor. Instead of standing straight up, you come up only half way. You pause in the half-way up position, descend to below parallel, and repeat. I would throw them in about once or twice a month, to keep the muscles “confused”. This forces the muscles to respond by getting stronger. In fact, you might want to perform a regular barbell squat or machine squat during the first workout. The next workout you might perform a barbell or trap bar deadlift. The third workout might be a bottom squat. Just perform each exercise with 100% intensity (with a spotter at all times) and seek to improve strength over successive workouts.

2. Negative-Only Chinups – This one is fantastic for developing the kind of upper body strength you need for the mat very quickly. Why? Because performing negative repetitions incorporates many more muscle fibers than the positive part of the repetition. In other words, you are 40% stronger lowering a weight than you are raising a weight. To apply this to chinups do the following: Grasp a chinning bar with a close, underhand grip. (Using this grip is much more effective than a wide grip for developing the latissimus dorsi muscle. The “lats” work with the biceps when you are performing a single or double-leg takedown.) By standing on a high bench or chair, hop up so that your chin is over the bar, and hold for 2 seconds. Slowly lower yourself under control until you reach a hanging position where the “lat” muscles are stretched. This lowering should take a good 8-10 seconds. Hop right back up to the starting position and again lower in 8-10 seconds. Repeat until it is impossible to lower with control. You may have to use additional weight around your waist if using body weight only gets too easy. Keep an arch in the middle back area when performing to force the back muscles to work harder than the biceps.

3. Negative-Only Dips – Just as the last exercise works the back and biceps muscles hard, this one works the antagonistic (opposite) muscles to them. This one will get the chest, shoulders, and triceps stronger fast. To perform you lock out the arms and support yourself at the top on a dipping bar. Keep the chin tucked into the chest to force more work from the chest muscles, and less emphasis on the triceps. Lower until the chest is fully stretched. This will take 8-10 seconds. Repeat. When you can’t lower in at least 6 seconds, the set is over. At this point take a much needed breather and get a drink.

Negative only training is very taxing on the body. I would do it for no more than 3 weeks at a time, about 4 times a year, to help push past a sticking point in your training. These 3 exercises can be performed by any wrestler. If a wrestler is young and hasn’t reached physical maturity, perform the squats with bodyweight only. For older, more mature wrestlers, go for broke. If you aren’t huffing and puffing, and can’t wait to get out of the gym, you didn’t work hard enough.

Discover the power of negative only training and watch your performances improve almost overnight.

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Swimming Tips For Frustrated Swimmers – A Simple Method For Effortless Swimming

Are you frustrated with your swimming? Swimming is more than the physical elements such as your fitness, strength and endurance. Effective swimming is about learning how to work with the water and not fight against it. It’s important to reduce your frontal resistance and not just increase your power.

Effective swimming is all about how well you can control your body in the water. The important key is to keep your body ‘long’ and ‘relaxed’ when swimming. This is achieved by implementing a simple but effective concept called ‘Power Words’.

‘Power Words’ are words which you repeat to yourself during an exercise or activity which help you perform that activity faster, more effective or more efficient. The two most powerful words which a swimmer should repeat while they are swimming ‘long’ and ‘relaxed’.

By picturing yourself swimming ‘long’ (long meaning to lengthen your body, arms and legs to make your body as long as possible) you will be focusing on reducing your frontal resistance in the water, which is the quickest way to drop seconds from your times.

By keeping your body ‘relaxed’ (relaxed meaning to swim without strain or any tenseness) you will be allowing your body to work with the water and not against it. Rather than tensing up when you increase your speed, the key to swimming faster is to relax more. This will not usually come naturally, but with practice you can learn to speed up by relaxing more.

In your next workout, imagine yourself swimming long and relaxed and feel the difference of working with the water and not fighting against it.

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Jay Cutler – Professional Bodybuilder

Jay Cutler is a very famous body builder. He was born August 3,1973. He grew up in Massachusetts and lived there for quite some time. He has 3 brothers and 3 sisters. He was the youngest sibling. He received a college degree in Criminal Justice. Now that he is focused on his body building he has moved to Las Vegas to live along with his wife, Kerry.

He has always been involved in sports growing up. He didn’t get into body building until he was 18 years old. He started out just wanting to look better but soon he realized he wanted to compete too. Jay quickly found a love for the sport. He is now an IFBB professional bodybuilder. Jay has won the title of Mr. Olympia 3 times in his career. He keeps his weight at 274 when at a competition, but allows himself to get up to 310 during off times.

If you are interested in training, Jay has several DVD’s on the market and also a book. He does his training at Gold’s Gym in the Las Vegas area. He now has his own website with a newsletter you can sign up to receive. He has hand picked a group of personal trainers that he endorses. You can hire one of them to work with and be taught the same way Jay trains. It is not guaranteed you will look like Jay, but you can get to your best with this training. Jay is still working strong to be the best he can be at this sport.

Jay Cutler has always been involved in sports growing up. He is now an IFBB professional bodybuilder. Jay has won the title of Mr. Olympia 3 times in his career. He keeps his weight at 274 when at a competition, but allows himself to get up to 310 during off times.

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The Importance of Boot Camp Fitness Program

Boot camp fitness programs are scientifically designed workouts to suit a wide range of people who value physical fitness and are serious about remaining physically agile and trim. The fitness programs may vary in style, rigor and intensity to meet individual needs. Boot camp techniques and exercises can burn the extra fat and calories and also initiate you into a different lifestyle.

Losing weight and getting into shape seems nearly impossible for a lot of people and the only way to achieve results is through enforcing discipline and the fitness boot camps just do that. Understanding what needs to be done to make you physically fit and trim is winning half the battle and fitness boot camp trainers know what you need to do.

Boot camp fitness participants are made to perform a wide assortment of strengthening, stretching, and cardiovascular drills, so the entire spectrum of bodily fitness – anaerobic, aerobic, and mobility – is trained with every session.

Not long ago, boot camp fitness programs were terribly excruciating and you almost killed yourself with workouts that largely resembled the rigorous military training imparted to soldiers. Things have changed a lot and in a fitness boot camp, you need no longer train like a soldier to lose weight and get into proper physical shape. But still boot camp fitness programs are challenging and you need a lot of self-discipline.

Boot camp workouts are productive because you work your entire body-nerves, tissues and muscles-through successive exercises one after the other with no respite in between. The workouts involve jumping jacks, crunches, body-weight squats, push-up with rotation, single-leg straddle, step jumps, explosive push-up, running, bicycling and lot more.

In boot camp, the challenge is to test your physical endurance and to take your body to its farthest limits. They are are aimed at:

• Effectively burn out a lot of unwanted calories leading to shedding of excess fat

• Making you work your entire body within in a short span of time and increase your powers of endurance and enhanced muscle strength

• Having each exercise differently so that you are not bored and remain enthusiastic

• Keep you motivated as you will do the workouts in the company of peers

• Easy to perform exercises that you can do anywhere with little equipment

• Boosting your levels of self-confidence and achieving overall body fitness

Some select fitness programs for free fitness assessments to determine the type of workout you will require and also supply participants with nutrition booklet including guidelines & tips to speed up results.

Each person’s program is individualized to make it result-oriented – from the type of food and nutrition and the physical workout program design and behavioral education and changing of lifestyle. Before enrolling in fitness programs, please verify if they are reliable and whether they have qualified nutritionist, therapist, trainers and other health care professionals.

Make sure the trainers at these fitness camps also undertake to build a program for you to pursue even after the session is over so that you sustain the levels of physical fitness you attained at the camp. This is critically important if attending a fitness camp is to guarantee long-term benefits and you get your money’s worth.

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How to Lose Weight Fast: 14 Things You Can Do to Lose Weight Quickly!

Everyone wants to know how to lose weight fast. We know the usual “watch your diet and exercise regularly” routine. But if it is as simple as that, then there wouldn’t be so many fat people in this world!

Amidst all the lies and hype surrounding the weight loss industry, it can be hard to separate the hype and lies from the truth. That’s why in today’s article, I’m going to share with you 14 things you must do to lose weight fast. Following these 14 tips will help you to lose weight safely and stay lean all year-round.

WARNING: SOME OF THE INFORMATION YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ MAY CONTRADICT WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS.

How To Lose Weight Fast Tip #1: Stop eating only salads

This is a well-known habit especially among female office workers. You order a big salad with nothing but greens. Your colleagues see what you eat and applaud your efforts to lose weight. But before 2pm, you get hungry and start looking for cookies and chocolates to snack. How’s that for one step forward and two steps back in your fat loss attempt? While there’s nothing wrong with having salads for lunch, you should add some good clean protein such as eggs and chicken breasts and also good fats such as avocados or guacamole into your salads as well. Remember this: Every meal should have a protein element. These protein and fat make you feel more satisfied after the meal and will sustain your blood sugar levels for a longer period so you won’t be looking for unhealthy snacks around the office right after lunch.

How To Lose Weight Fast Tip #2: Replace all the unhealthy snacks at home and in your office

Contrary to popular belief, snacking is actually productive for fat loss. Snacking on healthy snacks in between meals will help maintain a steady blood glucose level and also keep your metabolism elevated. Since people snack on convenience and the general availability of food around them, it is important to keep only healthy snacks such as dark chocolate, nuts, trail mixes, fruits or even beef jerky within easy reach. Throw all the others away. Or give them to a colleague you hate.

How To Lose Weight Fast Tip #3: Start a simple exercise routine

Every fat loss program needs to have an exercise component. It doesn’t even have to an actual exercise like jogging or swimming. If you have never exercised before in your life, you can even start something as simple as brisk walking every day for 20 minutes and work up the intensity from there. The main objective is staying active and turning up your metabolism. As you get fitter (and you will), crank up the intensity and challenge your body to reach new heights of fitness.

How To Lose Weight Fast Tip #4: Stop the steady state jogging

If you have been jogging for some time and haven’t seen any significant weight loss results, then it’s time for you to move on to more challenging exercises. Jogging is a good exercise to build your cardiovascular endurance, but not the best for fat loss. To effective burn fat, you need a workout that elevates your heart rate to at least 80% of your maximum heart rate and burns the most number of calories in the shortest period of time. Full body exercises such as burpees, squats, deadlifts, shoulder presses and rows gives you the most bang for your time spent on exercising. Perform each exercise for 30 seconds with a 30 second break in between for 3 sets before moving onto the next. Do this for 10 – 15 minutes a day and you will see results beyond what you have experienced from months of jogging.

How To Lose Weight Fast Tip #5: Don’t avoid carbohydrates completely

When carbs replaced fats as the main contributor of weight gain, many people are avoiding all known types of carbs completely. I personally have a colleague who shuns carbs like the plague. Let me set the record straight. Not all carbs are bad. Our bodies need carbs to function properly. Carbs are our bodies’ main source of energy. In fact, our brain functions primarily on carbs. Depriving your body of carbs can have detrimental effects on your body. Every type food has its time and place to be consumed. As a general rule, you should only consume low glycemic carbs such as brown rice, dark leafy vegetables, multi-grain bread, oatmeal, etc. High glycemic foods such as bananas, juices, white rice, potatoes and other processed foods are best consumed only right after an intense exercise.

How To Lose Weight Fast Tip #6: Set realistic and measurable goals

A lot of people give up on a training or fat loss program after a week or so because they did not see the results they were expecting. First of all, you have to remember that you didn’t get fat overnight. So you should not expect a miracle weight loss to happen as well. Setting realistic and measurable goals will help keep you motivated and continue towards your ultimate weight loss goal. So what considered as a realistic goal? Losing 0.5-1kg (1-2 lbs) a week is a realistic. Losing half an inch on your waist after two weeks is realistic. Of course, you have to be completely honest with yourself when you are accessing these goals. Ask yourself if you are really following the exercise program religiously? How many times did you cheat on your diet?

How To Lose Weight Fast Tip #7: Focus on building muscle

Some people may disagree with me that exercising and muscle-building is important for fat loss. To me, fat loss is all about changing our body composition – reducing the fat mass and increasing fat-free mass (muscles). Increasing fat-free mass will invariably contribute to the lowering of fat mass. For each pound of muscle your body has, you burn an extra 35-50 calories a day. Fat on the other hand burns only 2 calories per pound. So the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate will be. And contrary to popular belief, having more muscles is what will give your body those sexy curves that the opposite sex desires.

How To Lose Weight Fast Tip #8: Invest in a whey protein or meal replacement supplement

Having 3 meals a day with 3 snacks times in between is not always easy to prepare. That’s why for convenience purposes, it’s recommended that you purchase a good whey protein or meal replacement supplement. Just add water or milk and you have one serving of quality protein.

How To Lose Weight Fast Tip #9: Make small changes and stick with them for 21 days

Let’s be honest with ourselves. Fat loss involves some behavioral and lifestyle change. Your current lifestyle got you to the state that you are now. Continuing down this path obviously is not the quickest way to lose weight. We all know behavioral change is the hardest thing. This is why we need to make little changes every day that is more acceptable to our bodies. For example, if you currently drink two cans of soda every day, cut down to one can a day. Then next week, cut down to one can every two days. You get the picture. And for any program that you decide to get started, stick with it for 21 days. Statistics have shown that any behavioral change takes 21 to accept and approximately 60 days to form into a habit. So no matter how much you hate a current diet or exercise program, persevere for 21 days. You will be glad you did.

How To Lose Weight Fast Tip #10: Surround yourself with like-minded people

Some people are very dependent on social support, while others not so much. If you belong to the former group, it is important that you factor this aspect of motivation especially when you are starting out on a fat loss program. During the initial 21 days, it is important to stay motivated and focused on the goals you have set for yourself. You are bound to encounter challenges and struggles as you go through the program. Such as days when your thighs are so sore after doing full body squats or even good news like when you succeed in losing an inch off your waist. If you have friends who are doing the fat loss program with you, great! Share your results and how you feel about the program with them. Talk to fitness professionals; join online communities or Facebook groups to share experiences and gain knowledge. Also, don’t just focus on the fat loss part. Get into the whole health and fitness experience. Buy fitness magazines, visit fitness websites. Look at physiques you desire to achieve and set them as your desktop wallpaper. Do whatever you need to stay motivated.

How To Lose Weight Fast Tip #11: Train your legs

I’m not just talking about jogging here; I’m referring to doing heavy squats, lunges, deadlifts, etc. If you have ever done squats before, you will know that it is one of the most demanding exercises in the world. You pant and sweat like a dog as if you have sprinted a mile. But it is also one of the best exercises for building overall strength and of course burning calories. Leg exercises such as squats are usually compound exercises and as such burns more calories. Even if you are not doing weighted squats, just doing body weight squats alone can be just as challenging. To be honest, in my first 5 years of training, I never once trained my legs. I always thought the upper body is more important and doing squats could stunt your vertical growth. That is all a fallacy. Ever since I started doing squats, my strength went through the roof and my body fat levels have remained consistently low all year-round. Now I do squats at least once a week otherwise my workout is never complete. If you have never trained your legs before, trust me, start your workouts with squats and you will be amazed by the results you see. And yes, you can thank me later.

How To Lose Weight Fast Tip #12: Keep a meal diary

Many people don’t realize how many calories they consume every day. You think you are eating less by skipping a meal here and there. But you never consider those sodas, grande Frappuccinos or those cookies distributed by your colleagues that you so casually put in your mouth during the day. If you take down everything (and I mean every single thing including those mentos) that you eat into a meal diary, you will be surprised how many calories you are taking. Yes, I know it’s quite a pain to record down everything. But do yourself a favor and just do it for one day. It will be an absolute eye opener.

How To Lose Weight Fast Tip #13: Learn to love water

Perhaps the most overlooked causes of weight gain, the liquids you consume can deceptively pack on a ton of calories. Just a can of soda contains close to 150 calories. A grande mocha Frappuccino contains a whopping 420 calories. Drink a soda and a Frappuccino every day and you will gain a pound a week.

Because we can so easily and carelessly gulp down beverages without a second thought, liquid calories are more harmful. Fruit juices are no better. They all contain naturally occurring fruit sugar, fructose, which like all other sugars if consumed in excess will result in weight gain. One of the quickest ways to lose weight is to always choose water over all other beverages. Water has zero calories and is a natural source of hydration for our bodies. By simply replacing all your other sugary laden beverages with water, you will quickly be able to see weight loss results.

How To Lose Weight Fast Tip #14: Limit alcohol consumption

I know it is almost impossible to completely abstain from alcohol. But if your goal is to find the fastest way to lose weight, then you have to cut down on your happy hours. Alcohol is a toxic substance with absolutely no nutritional benefit whatsoever. What’s more, each gram of alcohol contains 7 calories. A few glasses of cocktails with its sugary mixers can easily pile on at least 1000 or more calories a night. You should also know that alcohol is an appetite stimulant. So don’t be surprised if you feel hungry after a night of partying. Of course this leads to additional calories into your body that you don’t need. If you are focusing on building muscle, excessive alcohol lowers your testosterone and increases cortisol levels (stress hormone) thereby reducing your body’s ability to build muscle effectively.

With so many disadvantages to your fat loss goals, do you still need another reason not to drink?

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The Best Chest Exercise

If you only had one exercise that you could do for your chest, what would you choose? Would it be your standard barbell bench press? Or how about incline dumbbell bench presses? Unfortunately both these exercises on their own don’t do a great job working your complete chest. However there is in fact one exercise that has been proven to work your whole chest better than any other exercise out there. It is the best chest exercise and chances are you never heard of it.

Now its time for me to introduce you to the Gironda Neck Press otherwise known as the Guillotine Press. The Gironda Neck Press was created by Legendary Bodybuilder, Vince Gironda and if your looking to add muscle to your upper chest than this exercise is for you.

This exercise is similar to your standard bench press except that your going to bring the bar to your neck. Doing so drastically increases activation of the upper pectorals. In fact recent EMG tests show that this exercise is more effective than incline presses at working your upper pecs. Not to mention this exercise is the most effective at working the pectoralis major which makes up the middle and lower pectorals. Now you can see why this exercise earned the title of Best Chest Exercise.

The only downside with this exercise is that you are not going to be able to go very heavy. In fact with this exercise I recommend keeping the reps at 6 or more. Going any heavier will likely put a lot of stress on your shoulders. There is nothing to worry about because the guillotine press (neck press) with 225 lbs actually recruited more chest than a traditional barbell bench press with 275 lbs.

Notes:

Perform the exercise on a flat bench with legs crossed and bent at 90 degrees – this keeps the back flat on the bench increasing range of motion

Take a wider than shoulder width hand placement and lower the weight slow and controlled until it makes contact with your collar bone or neck

Push the weight up until your elbows are slightly bent – no need to lockout, doing so takes tension off of the chest

If you want to go heavy than I recommend starting with regular bench press and finishing off with the Gironda Neck Press for 2-3 additional sets of 6-10 reps. This is a great way to get a good Chest Workout.

In conclusion the Gironda Neck Press is a very effective chest exercise that should be a part of every series trainees arsenal. So if you want to build a perfect chest that looks like a suit of armor than DO this exercise.

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