Working out with a punching bag, is one of the best kinds of workouts you can do. It will increase your strength, agility, and stamina. It meshes together cardio and weight training all in one. It’s an absolute killer on your muscles and great for your heart. Here is a great routine to try out, while you train on your punching bag.

Top Heavy Bag Workouts

The good thing about a heavy bag, is its heavy. It allows you to work your muscles and build strength up. Hitting the bag constantly will work your lungs and heart. Follow this workout, to get you into fighting shape

Hard Jabs

Reps: 10 each arm, with no rest in between

Hit the bag with a hard jab, alternate arms after each jab.

Knees

Reps: 10 each knee, with no rest in between

Hold the bag in a Muay Thai clinch, and drive your knee into the bag, do one leg at a time.

Hooks

Reps: 10 each arm, with no rest in between

Hit the bag with hooks, alternate arms after each hook, throw hooks as fast as you can with good form.

High Kicks

Reps: 10 each leg, with no rest in between

Kick the bag with high kicks around the stomach and head area. Step back and kick.

Uppercuts

Reps: 10 each arm, with no rest in between

Continuously uppercut the bag.

Low Kicks

Reps: 10 each leg, with no rest in between

Hit the bag with kicks, lower body shots are what you should aim for.

Punching bag workouts are a lot more fun than hitting up a cardio machine. How do you think fighters get in shape so easily, they use their entire body and use all their muscles. By hitting a heavy bag on a regular basis, you will force your body to become a fat burning machine. So buy a hanging or freestanding bag and get to sweating.

The reason why these workouts burn so much more fat than regular workouts, is because it is high intensity and you have resistance. Combining the two makes for a high interval, high intensity workout. These types of workouts raise your metabolism and it makes your body burn more calories throughout the day.

Normal workouts only burn calories during the workout. This is why fighters are a lot more condition and a lot more lean, than other types of athletes.

Over the past 15 years or so, we have been told that a healthy lifestyle is important. Scientists recommend we should be accumulating on average 60 minutes of exercises a day in order to maintain healthy levels. What exactly does that number mean? Over the course of a regular day, we should be doing some sort of physical activity that adds up to approximately 60 minutes. Whether it is in the gym on the treadmill or just in the garden for the afternoon, adding physical activity is vital.

First we need to know what actually constitutes exercise. The term Healthy activity can be broken down in to three categories; Cardiovascular, Resistance, and Flexibility.

Cardiovascular training

It is recommended to do cardio 2 or 3 times a week. Depending on your fitness level., cardio can consist of a nice walk with your dog, or a vigorous run on the treadmill. Ideally you are trying to increase your cardio capacity. which has many health benefits.

Resistance Training

Part of living an active lifestyle is by doing some sort of resistance training at least 2 times a week. That doesn’t mean you have to go to the gym and lift weights, you can easily do it at home by doing movements as simple as pushup and sit-ups, or by using something like resistance bands. Resistance training is just as important as cardiovascular activity and adds to your overall physical health.

Flexibility (stretching)

After you exercise, it is recommended you stretch for roughly 10 minutes, holding each stretch for 15-30 seconds. Stretching is crucial to maintain flexibility and reduce the chance of injury from exercise.

Benefits of Exercise

So now we know that working out is important, but what are the actually benefits of living an active lifestyle? Below are just 5 of the countless benefits of being active.

Reduces the Risk of Dying Prematurely – Those living a healthy active lifestyle live longer compared those who are more sedentary.

Lowers the risk of developing diabetes – Exercise keeps body fat in control and helps regulate sugar levels

Increase muscular strength – Having an increase in strength helps make daily activities less difficult.

Helps reduce the risk of heart disease – Regular exercise strengthens the heart, respiratory system, and lungs which aids to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Decreases Body Fat – Exercise along with a balanced diet will reduce body fat significantly.

As you can see there are many excellent benefits of living an active lifestyle. By adding a small amount of cardio, resistance training and some stretching to your daily routine, the overall benefits are almost endless. Essentially being healthy is about adding balance to your life. You don’t have to be a Lance Armstrong, or a Venus Williams to be considered active, you just have to add some extra activities to you routine.

A ‘spare tire’ seems to be unavoidable as we age, but that is NOT the case. The truth is that if we understand the changes in our metabolism and hormones due to aging, we can stop packing on the pounds around our middles.

Stubborn belly fat is not just ugly, it can also be dangerous. Doctors refer to it as ‘waist roundness’ and it has been linked to pre-diabetes and diabetes.

Other studies have linked abdominal fat to a range of other serious diseases, including:

• cancer

• high blood pressure

• high cholesterol

• heart disease

• dementia

and more.

What can you do to banish belly fat and start to slim down? Yoga can help you with both.

Yoga uses the weight of your own body to give you a good work out. You can develop great abs and a solid core in around 15 minutes of practice each day, and best of all, without having to do endless crunches.

Here are the main ways yoga can help banish belly fat:

Posture

Good posture is essential for strong muscles. Good abdominal muscles banish belly fat. Whenever you are sitting, walking or standing, check your abs. Engage your core and tighten your stomach muscles and see what a difference it can make to your belly and back. Yoga poses that can help which you can do almost anywhere include Mountain and Tree, if you don’t raise your arms.

Yoga poses for the abs

Focus on postures that are great for the abs. Try Boat, Plank and Chaturanga.

Yoga poses for the core

Pay special attention to yoga poses that are good for developing a strong core, including Dolphin plank, Side Plank and Donkey Kick.

Calories burned with yoga

All exercise will burn calories. With yoga, you can burn 500 to 800 calories an hour, up to 1,300 calories per 90 minute Bikram class (though this is not recommended for seniors or anyone with a serious health issue).

Muscles rather than fat

As you work your abs, you will develop long, lean muscle and banish belly fat.

A faster metabolism

Long, lean muscle burns calories more efficiently than fat, to help you lose weight quickly.

If you are tired of looking in the mirror at a spare tire, try yoga and see how fast you can banish belly fat forever.

There are many other benefits to practicing yoga regularly. It will not only give you a stronger and better-looking body, it can also enhance your concentration and other mental abilities.

Yoga is an excellent form of strength training, so it can be used as part of an overall exercise program that balances strength building with cardio exercise to get the heart pumping faster to exercise it more, since the heart is the most important muscle in the body.

In addition to a stronger body, you will also gain a strong mind. Yoga requires concentration and mental focus in order to achieve the poses and hold them or practice the different kinds of breathing in yoga, which are known as pranayama.

Good breathing can lead to less stress and anxiety and better overall health and vitality, which in turn can lead to better decision making and improved relationships. After all, it is hard to do anything well when you are sick.

Other valuable benefits of yoga include:

• Delaying the aging process through effective detoxification оf your body

• Decreasing fatigue

• Increasing energy throughout the day after your morning practice

• Boosting the metabolism to burn calories more efficiently

• Developing long lean muscle that can help maintain a healthy weight

• Improving the quality and duration of sleep

• Giving greater control over your body аnd mind

• Increasing body awareness, for better workouts

• Boosting self-confidence

• Offering greater relaxation аnd less stress in life

and more.

With so many benefits to yoga, what are you waiting for?

Quick note before reading this article: You may not know the T.V. character Jack Bauer, and that’s okay! In this article you’ll still learn a valuable tip that you can follow to help you get results with losing weight and getting in shape!

The beloved character, Jack Bauer, from the beloved hit T.V. show some years back, “24”, has certainly resonated with people beyond just entertainment value. People have connected to this character in so many ways in relations to their own lives. That being said, if you want to start losing weight and getting in better shape, there is one aspect of Jack Bauer that if you adopt into your mindset when dieting and exercising, I can assure you, you WILL get massive results! To learn more, continue reading…

You see, without his shoulder bag, his weapons, and the much loved Chloe, Jack wouldn’t have gotten very far with a mission… or would he? If Jack didn’t have any of those things, would he make it out of some of the most impossible situations? If you are a fan of the show, then your answer is more than likely… HECK YES!

Throughout the seasons of 24, you’ll see Jack getting out of insane situations that anyone else would have certainly not had any luck in. And the reason why he got out of crazy situations and ended up completing missions successfully is because of one constant philosophy he followed… and this philosophy is what I recommend you follow if you want to lose weight and get in shape…

That philosophy is to do whatever it takes to accomplish the tasks at hand. And when I say “whatever”, I mean WHATEVER it takes to accomplish the tasks at hand!

This is certainly not difficult with dieting and exercising as compared to Jack surviving a Chinese prison camp, or avoiding certain death from a Mexican drug cartel, or threatening an ex-President, and more!

Many people approach diet and exercise with a mindset that if their set plan can’t be followed for some reason, then they have to either give up or get another plan. If you want success, you can NOT think that way! You have to think along the lines that if your plan isn’t working, then you need to quickly improvise, adapt, and overcome… and FIND A WAY to accomplish the tasks at hand.

What are the tasks at hand?

Well, that depends. It depends on whatever your plan is and what your goals are. Tasks will be different amongst everyone.

For you, your goals may be to lose 20 pounds, burn off 15% body fat, and put on some lean muscle tissue. The tasks would be something like going on a metabolism boosting diet, doing high intensity interval cardio, low intensity cardio first thing in the morning, and of course, muscle building workouts. For someone else, their goals may be different… and therefore, their tasks will be different.

Now, if situations pop up that makes it difficult for you to accomplish your daily tasks for improving your body, then you must have the mindset that you are going to do SOMETHING… ANYTHING… WHATEVER, to achieve success for the day! Don’t feel as if you can’t achieve a full workout or eat a full healthy meal, etc., that you have just failed. You find a way to STILL make healthy decisions… regardless.

Taking this approach will do 2 things. One, you’ll have a major boost to your willpower. And secondly, you’ll quickly reach your goals!

Bottom line, whatever it is you are trying to achieve with your body, understand that if you find it difficult to stick to your pan, that doesn’t mean you should quit or find a different plan all together. It means that you need to analyze, adjust, and do whatever it takes to achieve your personal daily goals. In the end, Jack Bauer had a poetic exit from his career as a CTU agent, and it wasn’t because he followed all the rules, it was because he did WHATEVER it took to get the job done!

Why is there such a mystery surrounding the Bruce Lee workout?

His workouts have been well documented, and he even left notes. Bruce Lee tried just about every piece of exercise equipment that was available in his day. One of them was called the Tensolator.

What is the Tensolator?

Essentially, it consisted of two tubes, one sliding into the other with handles at each end and a steel cable covered by plastic wrapping it. I know it’s hard to visualize. You really have to see it, in a moment I will show you what it looked like.

The Tensolator, used a coiled spring to provide resistance and incorporated isometrics into its training program. The creator of the Tensolator, Gert F. kolbel, a German inventor designed this portable home gym after a device that was being used for research in a major German Think Tank.

The Bruce Lee workout included the use of the Tensolator to increase punching power, speed and muscle size. There are pictures of Bruce Lee, using it in place of dumbbells to increase the power and speed of his 1 inch punch.

In the book, The Art of Expressing the Body by Bruce Lee and John Little, he spelled out his Tensolator training program. Even though the original Tensolator only allowed for 24 exercises for the entire body, it was enough for Bruce Lee.

Here is the Bruce Lee workout for the Tensolator according to Bruce Lee’s notes:

Chest-

Chest Compression.

Twisting.

Arms-

Bow and Arrow

Vertical Compression

Biceps — Standing and Kneeling

Forearm

Shoulders-

Behind the Head Compression.

Above the Head Compression

Door Corner Press.

Stomach-

Sitting Pulling Downward

Kneeling Compression.

Oblique Compression

Back-

Kneeling Pulling Downwards

Vertical Compression on Thigh

Behind Buttocks Compression

Lean over Compression.

Dead Lift.

Leg-

Stiff Legged Outward Stretch

Knee Outward Stretch

Standing Calf Press Down.

Knee Squeezing Inward on Grip

Lifting in Step Upward.

Circulation Exercise

Bruce Lee was obsessed with making his body as powerful as possible and no doubt he achieved his goal

Here are some of the feats of strength that he performed:

* Lee’s striking speed from three feet with his hands down by his side reached five hundredths of a second.

* Lee’s combat movements were at times too fast to be captured on film at 24fps, so many scenes were shot in 32fps to put Lee in slow motion. Normally martial arts films are sped up.

* In a speed demonstration, Lee could snatch a dime off a person’s open palm before they could close it, and leave a penny behind.

* Lee could perform push ups using only his thumbs

* Lee would hold an elevated v-sit position for 30 minutes or longer.

* Lee could throw grains of rice up into the air and then catch them in mid-flight using chopsticks.

* Lee performed one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger

* Lee performed 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups.

* From a standing position, Lee could hold a 125 lb (57 kg) barbell straight out.

* Lee could break wooden boards 6 inches (15 cm) thick.

* Lee performed a side kick while training with James Coburn and broke a 150-lb (68 kg) punching bag

* In a move that has been dubbed “Dragon Flag”, Lee could perform leg lifts with only his shoulder blades resting on the edge of a bench and suspend his legs and torso perfectly horizontal midair.

* Lee could thrust his fingers through unopened steel cans of Coca-Cola, at a time before cans were made of the softer aluminum metal.

* Lee could use one finger to leave dramatic indentations on pine wood.

Your first priority when losing weight should be to eat a healthy diet. Of course, exercise is important, but consistently eating the right foods daily should come first. Follow these simple and effective tips to lose fat more easily.

Healthy Fats

Healthy fats are crucial to your weight loss efforts so aim to include healthy fats in most meals. Doing this assists your body to maintain the optimum hormone levels needed for fat burning and muscle-building. Healthy fats will also help to curb your appetite.

Include the following healthy fat foods in your diet: seeds, raw nuts, avocados, egg yolks (from free range, organic eggs), coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil. Grass fed meat is also an excellent source of healthy fats.

Here is a tip to quell your appetite and provide your body with protein, healthy fats and fiber. Try eating a handful of raw nuts half an hour before each meal 3 times daily. Nuts are nutrient dense as well so this simple trick will go a long way to improving your overall diet. Good choices are almonds, walnuts, and pecans.

Quality Protein

Include a quality protein with each snack and meal. High-quality sources include grass-fed meats, raw dairy, and plants sources such as beans and nuts. Protein helps with appetite suppression, which encourages you to ultimately consume fewer calories.

Eating enough protein assists your body to build lean muscle if you are working out. The more lean muscle you have, the greater will be the rate your metabolism runs at.

Eating enough protein at each meal also helps to regulate your blood sugar and insulin levels as protein slows down the breakdown of carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates

While it is not necessary to reduce carbohydrates to extremely low levels, many people do struggle to lose weight because they eat too many refined carbohydrates and sugars.

The sugars in fruits are better because the fiber in the fruits slows your body’s blood sugar response. An exception is fruit juices that are loaded with sugar and stripped of fiber during processing.

Try minimizing your consumption of carbohydrates from processed grains such as pasta, bread, cereals, bagels and so on. If you increase carbohydrate consumption from fruit and vegetables, you will most likely find it easier to shed body fat. This simple step alone can have a noticeable effect.

Follow these tips to a healthier smarter diet that will help you to lose fat more readily and build muscle, all the while providing more energy.

I hope this article helps you on the road to a healthy and hardy body.

So you just got into lifting weights and you've heard all the hype around this powdery substance called creatine. Should you take it? Is it worth the hype people are putting around this product? Or is it something that does not really have any added benefits? Let's find out.

What exactly is creatine?

It is a compound that is formed in protein metabolism and is in much of our living tissue. It is involved in supplying energy for muscular contracting which, in turn, increases the body's ability to produce energy rapidly. It normally comes in a powdered substance that can be flavored for you to mix with your drink.

Benefits of using creatine:

• Improves strength
• Enhances muscle and size
• Helps with recovery
• Helps with brain function

As we all know, with supplementation comes a risk of benefits we did not ask for while using them and creatine has been one to have much controversy over the years. It has been viewed as potentially harmful however, if we use this supplement correctly, all is well.

Things that are not so great about creatine:

• You'll gain weight (do not worry it's nothing crazy, it's mostly just water and then slowly it'll be more muscle mass)
• Some people have reported having: heart problems, cramps, and diarrhea. These are not necessarily related to creatine, but it could be a combination of other things that have caused these types of issues.

For instance, too much iron leads to stomach problems which could be causing the cramping and other stomach issues someone may be experiencing.

What type of creatine should you take?

Powdered creatine is what my recommendation would be because it has personally worked for me in the past. Liquid forms of creatine are shown to break down in your blood system which is defeating the purpose. If you're purchasing creatine, my recommendation is to buy the 100% pure creatine. Sure some companies have additives with electrolytes etc. But what worked for me was mixing the pure creatine powder with some type of sugary juice (I used sugary Gatorade). I'm sure you're saying what? I thought you wanted me to avoid sugar ?! This is true however, when taking creatine, the supplement works best when mixed with sugar because it increases insulin levels that help increase the amount of creatine in the muscles resulting in growth.

Myth's about creatine:

• The more you take the better. False. It has been proven that lower doses of creatine are actually more beneficial than ingesting it as a loading dose.

• Creatine in liquid form is the best option. FALSE. Like I said earlier, creatine is best taken in a powder form due to the fact that when taken in liquid form, you may not even be getting any creatine in your system at all.

• Creatine is linked to kidney and liver damage. This is also false. Studies on long term use of creatine have proven that there are no effects on the liver or kidneys.

I'm not here to promote creatine in any way nor am I telling you to avoid this supplement. I am simply informing you about a product that I previously had taken in the past and that it has worked for me. I stopped taking creatine after about six months or so due to the fact that I was retaining a lot of water weight but not because I experienced any sort of symptoms that were harmful. I grow muscle quite quickly so creatine is not a necessity when it comes to my supplement intake.

When it comes to gaining weight and building muscle, most people think it is going to be a long process involving a great deal of work. This is because the majority of people don’t have a clue as to what the best techniques are. Given below are 5 easy ways of gaining weight and muscle mass with ease. Use these natural methods and you will be good to go.

1. Eat protein before your workout and bedtime

According to a new study published in a popular journal, consuming protein after a workout and 30 minutes before bedtime may help you gain muscle fast. As to the amount of protein, experts say that 20 grams is enough.

2. Resistance exercise training

One of the most effective methods of gaining muscle strength and mass is known as resistance exercise training. This type of exercise is done with weight machines or free weights. But fast sprints can also help you achieve the same purpose.

If you want to make sure that you don’t burn out while resistance training, you can consume carbohydrates after each exercise session. This is to restore the depleted glycogen as fast as possible.

3. Use creatine supplements

If you want help with the resistance training in order to enjoy faster results, you can use a couple of proven supplements. And one of the best supplements is known as creatine. If taken for several days, the supplements can develop your muscle mass as they help your muscle retain water.

Aside from this, the supplements can help you lift heavy weights while improving your ergometer performance.

4. Detoxify your body

If you want to build your muscle, your system should be free of toxins. At times, people don’t develop muscle because their body is full of toxins. If your intestines are not clean, you may not achieve the success you desire. That is the reason many athletes take detox teas first thing in the morning or after lunch. They take the tea in order to flush the harmful toxins from their bodies in addition to treat the inflammation.

If you also want to detoxify your body, we suggest that you go for some yummy, caffeine free detox teas. However, what you need to do is go for teas that are natural and are herbs-based. Aside from the detoxification of your system, these teas help you resolve a lot of skin issues for better energy.

5. Stay Away from Steroids

Some people take steroids in order to develop their muscle fast, which is not a good idea. Instead, you may want to try out Conjugated Linoleic acid aka CLA. As a matter of fact, CLA is important for your health as it is a modified form of Omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6 is taken from various foods, such as dairy products and meat.

So, if you have been looking for some easy ways of gaining muscle fast, we suggest that you check out these 5 ways. Hopefully, you will be able to develop your muscle within a few weeks.

If there is one thing that is at the top of the list when it comes to High Intensity Training, it is the question of maximum progress. Due to the intensity of going to failure, and beyond, the body can move quickly into a state of over-training. You must understand how to manage your progress. This has led me to creating hybrid routines that incorporate low-stress high intensity techniques while incorporating advanced high intensity techniques that are in many cases high-stress but are super effective for maximum progress in the shortest period of time.

STRESS

Stress is a major contributor to over-training because most do not take into consideration all the different types of stress the body contends with, both good and bad, which affect recovery ability. Lets take a moment to understand in a simplistic way, how the body lays down muscle. But first let’s set some ground rules…

1- The workout must be intense to stimulate muscle growth.

We really do not know what percentage of intensity is necessary to best stimulate muscle growth… is it 80% or 94%… which is it? So 100% is a reasonable place to start because we are asking the body to adapt to something it has never done.

If you do the same thing over and over again, there is no need for change. This is why you see people in the gym that never change!

2- The workout must be brief.

Because we have the ability to increase our strength 400% or more… yet our recovery ability may only increase 50%… we must be ever so conscious of what is minimally required to stimulate an increase.

Since the body is very intelligent, it is not necessary to stimulate over and over again with endless sets or an exercise. It is only necessary to do it once. Any more than is minimally required to stimulate this increase, while putting the adaptive machinery into process, is taking away from the recovery and the overcompensation process, which can only be considered over-training.

Once set of an exercise is all that is required. It is not how many you do but how you do it.

3- The workout must be infrequent to allow the increase.

It is no secret that after you train intensely that something has been taken from you. You can feel it as you leave the gym when you are finished… if you truly trained to failure in an intense workout. Don’t get volume confused with intensity. They are opposites.

This is exactly what has happened. When you take a high intensity training workout, you dig a ditch in your system’s recovery ability. This is a good analogy and will make sense to you.

Since the body recovers as a whole and not by body part, which most trainees still do not realize, the rest required before you lay down muscle is based on a two step process…recovery and overcompensation.

If you go back into the gym before you have accommodated both processes, you are short-circuiting your progress and more than likely moving into a state of over-training.

This process can take as little as 4-5 days for a beginner… to as many as 7-14 days for an advanced athlete. You must first fill the ditch before you can build on top of it. After the ditch is filled, whatever is left, goes into building the mountain or as we say, laying down muscle.

You must first be 100% before you can be 120% or said differently, until you have compensated for the exhaustive effects of the workout, you will not lay any additional muscle down. So how do we know when to train?

THE TWO DAY RULE

This is possibly the most important concept you will learn if you are a high intensity training athlete. Here it is in a nutshell… Once you feel 100%, you feel energetic again and you are your great feeling self, then and only then, insert two more rest days before you go to the gym to perform your next workout.

The reason for this is simple. At 100% you have compensated, but, we are not here to break even are we? No, we are here to make strength and muscle gains up to our genetic potential. To do this we must pay attention and “Ride the Lightning” without getting burned… which brings me to my next subject and that is…

How to incorporate high intensity training techniques while not tipping the scales on stress which will allow you uninterrupted progress

HYBRID WORKOUTS

We hear a lot about hybrids these days.

There are hybrid boats that use motors that are electric, but fueled by a diesel generator which allows a greater reserve of fossil energy while propelling the craft efficiently and speedily to its destination.

There are hybrid cars that do the same and allow greater mileage while not hitting the supply of oil as hard as it would if they were running 500 cubic inch monster motors under the hood. This is not much different then what we are doing here.

What we are doing here is combining a low-stress high intensity technique with infrequent high-stress high intensity techniques that allow for more intense and longer contractions in most cases, thus allowing further adaptation and progress.

As one grows larger and stronger, the body requires a more intense contraction to move it past its status quo into a place it has not been. What must be taken into consideration is this…as implied above, the stronger you become, the more infrequent and brief your workout must become.

Many athletes, because they do not understand how to insert these most effective techniques and read their body properly, usually avoid them because they inevitably over train.

There are many types of intensity techniques; here are a few I like…

Forced Reps

Rest Pause

Omni Contraction

Negatives

Pre-Exhaustion

Contraction Holds

Each one of these go beyond failure and because of that… increase the intensity. However there is a couple that is lower stress than the rest.

I am going to set up an example how you could proceed using a low stress and higher stress technique in a 4 set split routine workout. We will be using:

1- Pre-Exhaustion (Low Stress) – PE is performed by starting with an isolation exercise and moving without rest directly to a compound exercise, thus pre-exhausting the muscle targeted with isolation then using fresh muscle to push the targeted muscle past the point creating an adaptive response.

2- Contraction Holds (High Stress) – CH focuses on either the strongest portion of the movement and/or the fully contracted muscle. We are going to use both here. It is the intense contraction that is the stimulus for muscle growth.

All sets that are not contraction hold sets are brought to complete muscular failure. All sets that are contraction hold sets require a workout or two to experiment with the proper weight in order to safely hold in the specified position. It is important to note that in most cases you will be using much more weight than you would normally use with a set of reps carried to complete muscular failure.

Here it goes…

WORKOUT 1

Chest, Shoulders and Arms

Dumbbell Flies (Pre Exhaust) – 6-10 reps

Incline Smith Machine Bench Press- 3-5 reps (no rest in-between sets)

Smith Machine Seated Press Contraction Hold (an inch below lock out) – 7-10 seconds

(These are performed seated with back supported with safety hooks engaged. Do not lock completely out rather just lift off the pins allowing shoulders and triceps to contract against the weight)

Curl Machine Contracted Hold (performed in fully contracted position) – 7-10 seconds

NOTE: As stated above contracted holds in this fashion employs much more weight than could be used normally for reps, please take the time to move safely into this technique and by all means have a good spotter and safety clips in the rack when you do, this is high stress. If you have any question of your health to perform such a workout, please get checked by a medical professional first.

WORKOUT 2

Legs and Back

Leg Press – 10 – 20 reps

Toe Press (on leg press machine) – 5-8 reps with a 10 second contraction hold in contracted position at top between each rep

Barbell Rows- 6-10

Smith Machine Barbell Row Hold – 7-10 seconds

(Set the Smith Machine pins and safety at mid point between the floor and your waist so that the bar is setting on them before you begin. Bend over and lift off of pins and hold)

WORKOUT 3

Chest, Shoulders and Arms

Incline Smith Machine Bench Press Contracted Hold (1 inch from lock out) 7-10 second

Lateral Machine or Dumbbell Laterals – 8-15 reps

Barbell Curls – 6-10 reps

Lying Triceps Extension – 6-10 reps

WORKOUT 4

Back and Legs

Pullovers (Pre-Exhaust with) – 6-10 reps

Pull downs (palms facing you) – 6-10 reps

Leg Press Hold (an inch from lockout) 10 – 20 seconds

Stiff Leg Dead lifts or Hyper Extensions or Back Machine (i.e. Nautilus) – 10 – 20 reps

As you can see, we are mixing pre-exhaustion with contracted holds which would employ a great deal more weight than you would normally use by just going to failure.

Because of this make certain that you experiment with jumps and weights. A good example would be if you can Incline Bench Press 200 pounds normally, you could more than likely start with 275 or 300 pounds for Contracted Holds, 1 inch from lockout. Also, remember that you do not lock the elbows; rather you barely move the bar off of the pins and hold.

It is imperative that when using a similar routine example as I have given here (I have tested this workout routine for the past 2 months with great results in both size and strength) that sufficient rest be provided.

I would suggest training once (not the whole 4 workouts but one workout) every 5 days to begin with until you go through all 4 then start again, unless you are extremely advanced. If you are you may need to insert extra rest days (7-10) and/or remove one exercise per workout to bring it down to 3 sets rather than 4.

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE: Remove the following exercises:

WO1 – Inclines

WO2 – Barbell Rows

WO3 – Laterals

WO4 – Pullovers or Stiff Deads/Hypers

Remember, you are doing nothing more but managing stress here. So manage it as you get larger and stronger and remember to use, The Two Day Rule!

There are many intrinsic and extrinsic factors as to why individuals may exercise. For instance, it is very common that people work out for extrinsic factors such as weight loss, body toning, or mass building. Resistance training has been proven to yield results in each of these areas, if done so correctly and consistently. The challenge many people face when beginning their exercise programs, is the lack of patience in seeing results. In our society, we tend to want things to occur immediately, but results do not always show as quickly as we would like. You should not let this discourage you in your route to better fitness; there are many ways in which you can speed up the process of reaching your fitness goals. Below I have listed 5 reasons why you may not be seeing the results you want and how you can fix these issues.

Poor Nutrition

As important as exercise is for physical improvements, nutrition is just as important, if not more than. You can work out 5-days a week and burn hundreds of calories, but if you are eating poorly between workouts, you will see no results. Your body needs adequate nutrition to refuel itself and poor dieting will not allow it to do so. Eating junk while exercising will only cancel your progress and keep you stagnate in your pursuit of better health and wellness. Eating a well-balanced diet with adequate nutrients, from a variety of sources and in moderation is the best way to get quick results from exercise. If you are not getting the results you would like, it may be time to analyze what you are putting into your body.

Lack of Intensity

Often improvements may be hindered because you are working out at an intensity that is too low to yield the results you are looking for. If you are exercising at a low intensity, weight loss and mass building will be difficult. Although low intensity exercise is beneficial for specific populations and for health benefits, if you are looking to see physical changes, moderate and vigorous intensity are the level you should be working at. Different intensity levels yield different results. The amount of effort you put into the workout may be your downfall. If you are not breaking a sweat or increasing your breathing when exercising, you are doing so at an intensity that is too low for progression. You should feel your heart beating faster than normal and your body should begin to fatigue near the end of your workout. Increase your intensity level and challenge yourself, so that you can reach the goals you desire.

Lack of Consistency

If you are serious about reaching your fitness goals, you should have a schedule for when you are going to work towards reaching them. If you only exercise when you feel good, you may not be exercising as often as is needed. Consistency is key to being successful at anything. If you are not making the effort to get into the gym on a regular basis, you will not reap the benefits of your workouts. Keep in mind that working out regularly is not working out every day. Allow your body to recover but be sure to hit the gym at least 3-5 times a week. Take pride in what you are doing, it will be worth it in the end.

Lack of Patience

Just as eating pizza once will not make you gain fat, working out once will not make you lose fat. These things happen over time and your body must learn to adapt to the load you put on it. Every year I see people begin working out two weeks before spring break, attempting to “get in shape” for the beach. This is due to a lack of understanding on how your body works. Many people believe that at any moment they can change their body without putting the time and effort in to do so. This leads people to have false expectations and eventually turn them away from exercise because they don’t see the results they thought they would. Many settle for excuses like “I can’t burn fat” or blame genetics. They can very well burn fat and drop pounds if they were consistent and patient in doing so. If you have just began working out and are not seeing results, hang in there and stay with it. Everyone’s body responds to exercise slightly differently but your results will come if you are putting the work in.

Lack of Periodization

Mixing up your workouts is crucial to making bodily improvements. Doing the same thing over and over will only allow your body to adapt to the exercise load and become idle. It is vital that you work different muscle groups and increase your resistance load as you gain strength. You should be challenging yourself in the gym and with time, adding more weight or reps. Periodization allows you to shock your body and challenges it. This can be done by decreasing rest periods, increasing weight, reps, the types of exercise, and even the order of exercises. If you have found yourself at a standstill in your progress, try switching up your workout regimen.

In conclusion, I hope that this article helps you pin point some of the reasons as to why you may be experiencing a lack of progression in your workout program. There may be multiple issues with your training so you should examine all areas to find any hiccups that can be fixed.