Muscle Rumor » Exercise

Target Muscles With Body Sculpting

Muscle Builder Guy — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:49:13 +0000

Body sculpting exercises are a great way to firm and shape various muscles over the body. A sculpting program focuses on manipulating and toning different muscles in the lower and upper body. Body sculpting programs are popular throughout the world since they combine cardio activity, stretching, and resistance training. These exercises can be used by any one who desires to become more fit and toned. All of these exercises are proven in fitness research to improve overall health and weight.

Stretching is an important element in almost every exercise program. Stretching exercises are best performed at the beginning and ending of each physical exercise session. Stretches helps to loosen and tone the muscles in preparation for more intensive moves.

Cardiovascular exercises increase the heart rate and promotes healthy blood flow to the muscles. Cardio also helps to challenge endurance, build resistance, and increase energy levels.

Resistance training is integral for building and toning muscles. Specific muscles are targeted with each exercise. These resistance moves can be performed with or without weights. Beginners or those with joint or back problems prefer to use no weights and just the natural resistance of their bodies. However, others prefer using elastic bands, dumb bells, medicine balls, balance foam, or stability balls to increase resistance. The addition of equipment allows people to tone and build muscles more quickly.

Body sculpting is a program which anyone at any fitness level can engage. Many gyms and community programs offer body sculpting classes by trained teachers that can help show you how to perform each exercise. However, many individuals cannot afford or attend these classes. The next best thing is to purchase body sculpting videos to guide you through the movements. A quality body sculpting dvd will properly instruct you on how to perform an effective exercise routine and improve your healthy lifestyle.

Test your limit with Olympic weights

Muscle Builder Guy — Wed, 18 May 2011 09:54:14 +0000

If you are into weightlifting and want to push your endurance level to the maximum, you need to get some Olympic weights. These weights are not the same as those found in a regular gym and are styled like the weights used in Olympics. Thus, they are relatively heavier and much more strapping so that you can benefit more from your weightlifting regimen and can get better bodybuilding results. You can pick these in various sizes that usually range from 200 to 500 pounds.

However, do not forget to consult your personal trainer before investing in a set of Olympic weights, as he or she can be your best guide when it comes to buying these. To get the maximum value for money while shopping for Olympic weights, you should buy one that comes with a weight tree. This is an absolute must if you want to save yourself from the trouble of picking up the weights from the floor every time you need to adjust the weight on the bar. Moreover, it also helps keep the weights in an organized manner and readily available at the time of the work out.

From the point of view of safety, it is highly recommended that you get an Olympic weight set that comes with machined interlocking grip plates so that there is no risk of spinning or wobbling in the middle of a strenuous work out. Once you get a hang of it, you can continue training with these weights in your home and combine weight training with some cardio routine by getting a mini exercise bike for yourself. If you are already looking for a bike for your home gym, you can browse through multiple mini exercise bike reviews posted online to decide upon the model that is best suited for your fitness requirements and budget.

Dead Lifting For Lats

Muscle Builder Guy — Fri, 06 May 2011 07:53:05 +0000

Why is the dead lift exercise so important? With our sedentary lifestyle in America, we have the tendency to walk with a hunched back. If a person only exercises their arm muscles this adds to the problem. By doing this exercise you will be able to stand up straighter and your posture will improve. Another great reason to do this exercise is that it boosts your hormones as your hormones think that they are in a life or death situation. Extra hormones are produced when doing this exercise which is a great reason to practice this exercise.

If you are wondering whether to use straps with this exercise, remember that not using straps is one of the best ways to increase the muscles in your back. My advice would be to use straps half of the time, then try the other half of the time to exercise without using straps.

Positioning is very important in this exercise. You can hurt your lower back if you do not remember to roll your shoulders back and bring in your bottom while doing this exercise.

There are many ways to do a dead lift, but this article will teach one of the basic ways to do a dead lift. Make sure that your hands are facing in different directions. One hand should be over the bar while the other hand comes under the bar to grasp. Grab the bar and take a couple of steps back, making sure the back is straight and the chest is open. Keep the legs stiff until the bar passes the knee. The weight should barely touch the floor when you go to the ground. Make sure you breathe in as you bring the bar up. Bring the bar up and down about ten times.

The most important things to remember while doing this exercise are breathing and positioning. Make sure you are breathing in as you lift the bar. Make sure that you keep those shoulders open. Also, make sure that you are bringing the weight lightly down, barely touching the floor, rather than slamming the weight to the ground. The dead lift is a great way to stretch your back and is an important exercise to add to your daily routine, as long as you are doing it correctly. So many people focus on working out their chest with an olympic weight bench or weight bench workout, this workout will help you have a more well rounded workout. Remember the techniques taught in this article and you are ready to do the dead lift.

Using Powerblock Dumbbells to Work Your Upper Body

Muscle Builder Guy — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:29:07 +0000

Not everyone can get to the gym, whether it’s to far away, you don’t feel like driving, or the weather is to nasty (I live in Alaska, don’t worry, I understand). If you have any of these issues, a set of home workout equipment is essential. If you’re short on space too, like me, I’d recommend Powerblock Dumbbells. These adjustable dumbbells take the place of 28 pairs of dumbbells and are adjustable from 5 to 90 lbs (depending on the model you choose). Now what can you do with these? How about a solid upper body workout? I’ll show you a sample workout.

Dumbbell Bench: Start off hitting the most of your major muscles with this one. You’ll be hitting your chest, shoulders, and triceps pretty hard here.

Inclined Dumbbell Bench: Benching on the incline will shift the focus of this lift to the upper part of your chest and also work in your shoulders even more.

Dumbbell Rows: Balancing out the push exercises above with a good solid pull exercise. This one is great for pretty much your entire back and also your biceps.

Dumbbell Flys: Back to the push exercises with this one focusing on your chest.

Inclined Dumbbell Curls: Hitting the biceps hard here. Careful, your forearms might be getting tired at this point and you may start losing your grip.

Laying Tricep Extensions: Just as the name says, working the triceps.

Bent-over Lateral Raises: Working the upper back and shoulders with this one. Watch your back position as you start to get fatigued or you could strain something.

Wrist Curls: Finish it all off by not forgetting to give your forearms some attention. They might be already sore from all the gripping you’ve done, but working them a little now will make your later workouts easier.

Now look at that. There was a real solid upper body workout without ever leaving home. All you needed were some Powerblock adjustable dumbbells and a adjustable bench. Now, I have to admit, Powerblock dumbbells are pricey, but if you’re short on space and plan on working out for the long term, I think they’re worth it. Thanks for stopping by.

Six Pack without Breaking your Back

Muscle Builder Guy — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:08:10 +0000

People who currently have six-pack abs did not just wake up one day and found them there. They underwent major workouts and started the same like anyone of us. Six-pack is more on having discipline. Series of exercise and other necessary changes are needed to get that six-pack abs. Today, I will share to you the simplest way on how to get a six pack fast.

From now try to eat healthy and cut off the calorie intake. Choose healthy food groups like fruits and vegetables. Don’t eat too much, if you can’t help it and eat fast food products, then try to ask for the smaller servings or try to cut them to half and save them for later.

Once you establish those simple changes slowly and gradually, you can now add the exercises.

Aerobics

You can do this anywhere, at home, park or the gym. Aerobic exercises are those that make you sweat and make you heart beat fast. There are a lot of them. It could be in a form of walking, jogging or bicycling. I’d like to focus on bicycling because it is not only an aerobic exercise. It also targets the abdominal muscles and weight muscles.

Abdomen specific exercise

Crunches

It’s very simple to perform; you just lie down on your back and put your feet on the floor, bend your knees, and place your hands behind your head. A repetitive motion from slowly raising from the floor to contract the abdominal muscle is done. The key here is consistency and increasing the tolerance. Consistency means doing it four to five times a week. And if you have made it up to 20 repetitions for the past three days, then increase another 20 as tolerated. This targets a wide part of your abs especially the upper portion.

Leg raises

You can lie flat on the floor, have your legs straights and hand pressed on the floor. Raise your legs slowly, about 6 inches above the floor and try to hold it for 3 seconds, then back to the original position. Once again consistency and tolerance is essential. A suggested repetition to start with is 10 leg raise. .

Add up the two and some other variations and you’ll come out with the best six pack workout.

Juggling Kettlebells for ultimate cardio

Muscle Builder Guy — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:23:06 +0000

So you want to learn how to juggle kettlebells? You are brave, although you may not be wise. KB juggling is kind of the fringe of the fringe of the strength training world. If you haven’t ever seen one in person, a kettlebell is a big iron ball with a handle on top. They come in weights ranging from 3 pounds all the way up to 150, which is the heaviest I have seen. They can be used just like dumbbells in most ways, but when swings and snatches get boring, the truly brave (or foolish) turn to hand-to-hand kb work.

To give you a picture of how this works, I need to explain one of the fundamental Russian kettlebell movements to you: the swing. In this movement, the bell is grasped by one or two hands, swung back between the legs, and then propelled forward by the hips.

Here’s where the juggling part comes in. At its most basic, you would grab the bell with one hand, swing it back, pop it up with your hips, and then change hands at the top of the swing. This is rudimentary hand to hand work, but it’s a start. Nothing else changes. The path of the bell stays the same, the hips move the same, but the bell changes hands on the fly.

The next step is to learn the flip, which can also be taught with the one or two-hand swing. I recommend starting with two hands. Perform a swing, except at the top, spin the handle of the bell with your thumbs so that it rotates backwards towards you. If you have spun it at an appropriate speed it will stop rotating at the same spot you let go of it, then you can grasp it and perform the normal eccentric portion of the swing before popping it up for another flip.

There are many, many progressions and moves that can be worked up to, but I would urge patience here: the body is very smart and it is always getting better at whatever it is doing. Meaning, if you try to get so tricky that you’re dropping the bell nine times out of ten, you’re really just learning to miss.

So choose a weight and a movement that allows you to nail it the majority of the time. When you have mastered the flip and the hand switch, you’ll be ready for more advanced movements like passing the kettlebell between the legs, around the back, and even catching it overhead.

Most work with these tools is based on endurance, which means long, long sets. Swings get boring, I speak from experience. Mixing it up with some fancy juggling work is an easy way to get all the cardio benefits out of your kettlebell without getting bored.

4 Weeks to Getting Flat Abs

Muscle Builder Guy — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:13:16 +0000

Do you need an effective plan to help you get flat abs? If you do, you are in luck. This is because you will find a 4 week plan here – giving you planning, exercise and diet guidelines. Let’s see how you can implement that plan:

Week 1

Planning

Write reasons down – Write down your top reasons for wanting to have flat abs – it will act as motivation for your journey.
Plan how you are going you achieve it – Set smart goals (goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bounded.) to help you to plan how you are going to achieve it.
Commit to goals – Promise yourself that are going to be committed to your goals.

Diet

Keep a food dairy – Keep a food dairy for the week and use it to see where you are eating wrong.
Choose a healthy diet/eating plan – Pick a healthy eating plan that enables fat burning like the truth about abs eating plan.
Go grocery shopping for the month – Go do the groceries for the month bur make sure to do it on a full stomach.

Exercise

Light cardio – Do only light cardio exercises like brisk walking, light jogging, swimming, hiking or biking for 4 days a week for about 15 to 20 minutes at a time.
Light weight training – Do only light weight training exercises for 2 days , for about 30 minutes at a time – include a lower and an upper body day.
Abs exercises – Include some crunches with your lower body day.

Week 2

Diet

Follow your healthy eating plan/diet

Exercise

Cardio – Switch over to interval training for 20 minutes at a time for 2 times a week.
Weight training – Lift heavier weights this week.
Abs exercises – Increase your abs exercises by including the following abs exercises: oblique crunches and the plank.

Week 3

Diet

Stick to your healthy eating plan/diet

Exercise

Cardio – Increase your cardio to 3 times a week, doing the same as in week 2.
Weight training – Increase your weight training days also to 3 times a week and increase the weight load.
Abs exercises – Do the same abs exercises as last week, but include one more exercise: the bicycle exercise.

Week 4

Diet

Stick to healthy eating plan/diet – Keep on following your eating plan
Have one cheat meal – Reward yourself for doing so good with one cheat meal.

Exercise

Cardio – Repeat the cardio of week 3.
Weight training – Lift heavier than last week.
Abs exercises – Do the same exercises than week 3, but include a weight to make the exercises more challenging.Follow this 4 week plan for flat abs and you will start to see flat abs in the mirror soon. And when you want to ensure that you get flat abs, check out the truth about six pack abs pdf – it has 6 workout plans and 74 meal plans to ensure you get a six pack.

Treadmills for a Good Cardio Workout

Muscle Builder Guy — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 22:33:41 +0000

If you’re looking for a proper cardio workout that will make you feel great and help you look your best, there are a number of things you can do to get your heart rate up into the target range. Personal trainers recommend that for best weight loss results, a person perform moderate cardiovascular exercise for at least 45 minutes per day. What exactly does “moderate cardiovascular exercise” mean, exactly? Ideally, you should be able to carry on limited conversation during your workout. You shouldn’t be able to have a full conversation with the person next to you (in that case, you’re probably not working hard enough); simply being able to carry on a conversation with short words and phrases will suffice. For best weight loss results, it’s important not to push past this into the zone where you can’t speak at all; in this anaerobic regime, weight loss takes a back seat to muscle gain.

So, what are some ways to ensure that you get your cardio exercise on a daily basis? Well, the first thing that many people begin with is a jogging routine. Jogging is much like running, except that it’s at a slightly slower pace to ensure that limited conversation can be maintained. Your heart rate will remain in the target zone, and you’ll be able to easily finish the workout feeling somewhat winded. Most people find jogging outdoors to be the most enjoyable way to get a workout done, but that may not be possible for some people due to location. People unable to jog outside may consider purchasing any number of cheap treadmills to get the job done.

If you’re not quite able to begin with a jogging routine, get out and start walking. Wear a pedometer to track your steps, and try to beat your personal bests each day.

Lowering Triglycerides

Muscle Builder Guy — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:58:52 +0000

Everyone has something about their bodies that they would like to change, with some people hoping to lower their triglycerides: the animal and vegetable fats that are found in foods high in caloric and alcoholic content. Although triglycerides, like cholesterol, are needed in small amounts for our bodies to operate correctly, many people consume too many of them. Unfortunately, eating too many triglycerides makes one’s adipose tissue store the excess amounts as fat. As many people know, high triglyceride levels are associated with health problems, such as heart disease, obesity, pancreatitis, and diabetes mellitus. It is paramount for individuals with high triglyceride levels to learn ways that they can lower them, and they can find some tips from health professionals below on how to lower their triglycerides feasibly:

1) Change your diet around: Add foods that are low in fat, while simultaneously high in fiber. Include many white meats (e.g., lean turkey and chicken breast), fresh and organic fruits, whole grain products, and vegetables. Try to limit the amount of “refined ” carbohydrates (e.g., white bread products, pastas, rice, non-grain cereals, etc.) that you ingest, too, along with junk foods, fast foods, and red meats. Introduce yourself to water well, and make it the beverage of choice for all meals and times that you are thirsty. Eat few, if any, saturated fats, while staying away from all foods containing trans fats.

2) Add Omega-3 to your lifestyle: While Omega-3 is easy to get from salmon, tuna, and other fish, many people do not like to eat seafood; nevertheless, fish oils are available for people to purchase, and they are recommended by medical doctors for individuals trying to lower their triglycerides.

3) Exercise more often: Engage in cardiovascular and aerobic exercises, such as jogging, running, bicycling, doing calisthenics, playing a sport, etc. By doing these activities, you are decreasing your weight, and when you are of a lower weight, your chances for having higher levels of triglycerides tend to shrink. In addition, you are increasing your metabolism, which helps, too.

4) Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and cigarettes: Decreasing all of these activities helps lower triglycerides. If a person needs to have caffeine or alcohol, experts recommend a maximum of two drinks a day. Cigarette smokers, though, should quit altogether; not even one cigarette is recommended a day.

5) Take Niacin: Your doctor can prescribe Niacin, a drug that has been found to naturally lower triglycerides, if you need it badly. If your doctor will not prescribe the drug for you, there are over-the-counter drugs that you can opt to purchase and try for yourself- just make sure they contain Niacin.

6) Cope with stress effectively: Stress can make us eat foods that are not healthy. So, engage in activities (e.g. breathing techniques, meditation, yoga, physical exercises, counseling sessions) that will help reduce your stress levels, and thereby reduce your urges to eat unhealthy foods.

Individuals can decrease their high triglyceride levels; they will just need to change their lifestyle habits, but it will ultimately prolong their lives.

High Intensity Interval Training For Runners

Muscle Builder Guy — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:35:12 +0000

Runners are always in constant pursuit of improving themselves. It is not enough that you train every single day with burning enthusiasm. A runner must also know specific techniques to better themselves and perform their training properly in order to avoid injuries and overtraining. That is why it is imperative for new runners to be knowledgeable about the different ways that will help them achieve their training goals. There are different types of training regimens runners can adopt, two of the most common are cardio and interval training. In cardio training, the runner engages in low intensity but long duration exercise. An example is biking or jogging at a constant low speed such as 3 or 4 miles per hour for 45 minutes to 2 hours. This type requires ample time to accomplish and can be redundant, uninteresting and also, not challenging enough for some runners.

Interval training is exercising at a high intensity for short durations of time, the exact opposite of the first type. Compared to cardio, interval training is more challenging since it involves a sprint period and then prescribed rest periods or intervals in between. It is distinguished from cardio training, in the sense that it not only targets endurance but also improves your strength and power, thus improving your overall running performance. High intensity interval training program (HIIT) involves a series of bursts of speed or sprints interspersed with recovery periods. It is a specific form of interval training that increases oxygen consumption to speed up your fat burning metabolism. This consists of a five minute warmup, a 45 second to 1.5 minutes of maximal exertion then followed by a 1 to 2 minute rest period where you jog or walk until you can get going again. This is done for 8 to 10 intervals then finished off with a cool down period. Because of its high intensity nature, this type of training is only done 2 to 3 times a week to allow the body to recover.

Studies show that interval training workouts are more effective in burning off fat calories since it prevents the body from achieving a steady state. In cardio workouts, the body goes into steady state since it had time to adjust itself to conserve energy while interval training switches intensity every one or two minutes so the body doesn’t get a chance to adjust and just keeps on burning more calories. This does not mean that one type is better over the other. Both types of workouts are essential to a runner. Interval training workouts can improve your overall performance in running. It requires minimal time but gives immediate results. Cardio may take a lot of time to perform but it works best in the initial training periods to gradually accustom any beginner to running and avoid injuries due to overtraining. Because of its low-intensity level, it is also well suited for the elderly or those who have medical conditions as long as they get clearance from their physicians or cardiologists. For the intermediate or advanced healthy runner, interval training workouts would give them the necessary edge in order to improve their speed and strength and perform better in more difficult races.