You’ve probably seen the “huge balls” if you’ve recently visited a gym or watched a fitness program on television. You may have questioned the reason for the fuss. They can appear to be something from a playground, but don’t be fooled. One of the finest ways to improve your core and abs is by using these balls.
Because of this, the fitness sector has gotten on the ball bandwagon. According to the Idea Fitness Programs and Equipment Survey, 71 percent of IDEA businesses implemented ball group fitness courses, and 89 percent of IDEA businesses offered balls to their consumers.
Do you find it difficult to imagine that bouncing, rolling, or even sitting on a large inflatable ball will improve your fitness? Continue reading to find out how useful ball fitness may be.
Although they have recently become fairly popular, the ball—also known as a stability ball, fitness ball, Swiss ball, physio ball, etc.—has been around since the 1960s. Physical therapists utilized it at first to aid in rehabilitation.
But the ball has much more uses besides rehabilitation that makes it valuable and adaptable. It is a very affordable piece of exercise equipment that works your entire body while also enhancing your balance. With a ball, you can perform absolutely countless different workouts. And it can help both novice and experienced exercisers. Children and older people alike can use it.
Why is this piece of exercise gear so beneficial in a special way? It causes your body to balance itself while simultaneously working several muscles at once. This results in a difficult and highly effective workout. For instance, performing tricep extensions while lying on a bench is an excellent exercise, but it just targets the triceps. But if you do the identical maneuver on a stability ball, the situation becomes unstable. You use additional muscles to maintain your balance on the ball. That implies that even though your exercise time hasn’t increased, you are now exerting more effort and effectively receiving more for your money.
So, if you haven’t already started, now is the time to do so. You might believe that your routine already gives you all you need, but it’s likely that you spend the majority of your time exercising your lower body. Your core has to receive a lot of attention during your workout sessions because it stabilizes the rest of your body. Your performance in all activities, including mundane tasks like carrying groceries, is enhanced by having a strong core. Your core strength, balance, and posture can all be enhanced with the ball. Almost all exercises done on a ball target your core region. And yes, it can even assist you in achieving the coveted six-pack!
Make sure you select the appropriate size and stiffness before giving the ball a go. The exercise move will be more challenging the harder the ball is. As a result, beginners should generally select a softer ball (e.g. not overly inflated). Additionally, it’s critical to select the appropriate size based on your height. Height recommendations can be found from the ball’s manufacturer or local gym.
The ball can be utilized for a total body workout, as was already described. With the ball, you may exercise your legs, arms, chest, back, and abs. You can also train your heart by performing exercises like sitting jumping jacks. The exercises that can be performed with the stability ball are demonstrated in the examples below.
Chest Fly:
Your knees should be bent and your heels should be about two feet from the ball as you lay across it with your head and shoulders supported on the ball. Arms raised overhead, palms pointing away from you. Rotate your hands to face each other as you slowly split your arms in a circle, bending your elbows slightly as you do so. Repeat from the starting position.
Chest Fly With Exercise Ball
Oblique Twist:
Start by lying down with the ball supporting your back. For support, place your hands behind your head. By steadily raising yourself up while lifting your shoulder blades off the ball, you can rotate your left shoulder toward your right hip. Never pull your neck too tight by using your hands to do so. Keep your elbows at your sides. Switch sides after going back to your starting location and repeating.
Oblique Twist With Fitness Ball
Squat Against Wall:
Standing with your feet hip-width apart and about a foot away from the wall, lean your back against a ball that has been placed against the wall. Keep your back straight at all times. Let the ball travel up your back while bending your knees until they are approximately 90 degrees apart. As you bend, keep your knees in front of your toes. Repeat from the starting position.
Squat Against The Wall With An Exercise Ball
An exercise ball is a great option to help you get fit. It’s affordable and easy to keep at your home gym. Sometimes the less complicated types of exercise equipment have the best fitness results.
Well, it’s almost that time of year again – the holiday shopping season is just around the corner. Have you thought about what you are going to give those people on your “hard to shop for” list? Instead of another tie for your dad or a music CD for your sister, why don’t you give them a truly unique and invaluable gift? I’m talking about the gift of fitness…
The gift of fitness is something that you can give to virtually everybody on your shopping list — from your parents to your spouse, a friend, your siblings, an employee or co-worker, even your children. And it’s a gift that is invaluable. After all, who doesn’t want to look better, feel better, and be healthier?
And, it’s a gift that you can truly feel proud to give. When you give someone the gift of fitness, you are helping him open a door to better health (both physically and mentally). I can’t think of a more thoughtful gift. It’s a gift that genuinely shows the recipient how much you care about their well-being. By giving the gift of fitness, you are providing them with unlimited health benefits.
Of course, we all know that exercise can help people stay slim and fit. But, do you also know about all the other great benefits of exercising? Daily physical activity reduces stress and can help you sleep better. Fitness has been linked to reducing the risk of many diseases and warding off depression. Researchers also believe that strength training can help prevent osteoporosis. Not to mention that exercise also improves self-esteem, increases stamina, and ultimately helps you be able to do continuous work for longer.
I bet a lot of people on your shopping list would find these fitness benefits incredibly invaluable. If the people on your list are like most of us, they’ve probably even mentioned how they want to drop a few pounds or just get in better shape. In fact, experts say that about 62% of Americans are currently on a diet. By giving the gift of fitness, you are helping provide them with motivation, (which is one of the biggest obstacles to getting fit). They’ll be more motivated to actually get fit because they don’t want to feel guilty for ignoring such a thoughtful gift (personal training gift certificates and gym memberships are especially good for helping with motivation).
While fitness gifts are incredibly valuable, they don’t have to be expensive. Gifts can cost as little as $5 or range into the $100s of dollars. Here are a few suggestions in the various price ranges:
Under $15:
Resistance Band (also makes a great stocking stuffer) Dumbbells Jump rope (also makes a great stocking stuffer). Exercise Mat
$15 – $35
Fitness Ball Online Personal Training Program (custom designed for the gift recipient) Home Exercise Video (also makes a great stocking stuffer) Heart Rate Monitor
A fitness ball is an affordable option
Over $35
Full dumbbell and barbell set Treadmill Bicycle Yoga Kit
Giving something that supports health and wellness will be appreciated for years to come and may even turn someone’s life around. The gift of fitness will make the recipient feel special; – they’ll know that someone cared enough to give them the opportunity to improve their health. Giving a gift that will help someone lead a healthier life is also one of the most rewarding gifts you can give. So why do we spend another holiday season searching for the perfect gift only to end up with the same old gift certificates, socks, or books? Surprise everyone this year with a gift that comes from the heart and truly keeps on giving throughout the New Year and beyond. And don’t forget yourself – you deserve the gift of fitness too!
About the author
Lynn Bode is a certified personal trainer specializing in Internet-based fitness programs. She founded Workouts For You, which provides affordable online exercise programs that are custom designed for each individual.
With the temperatures plummeting this time of year, many of us tend to hibernate inside our homes. But, hibernating is for bears. As humans, it’s important to stay active through all four seasons. Yet, a poll of 5,000 people found that 30 percent get no exercise at all during the winter months.
Just because it is cold outside doesn’t make it open season for an excuse not to exercise. There are multiple exercise options one can choose to participate in regardless of what the outdoor thermometer reads. Depending on your location and preferences, you can choose to work out inside or outside.
All that is required for wintertime workouts is some planning and the employing of all safety precautions. If you prefer to work out outside, keep the following tips in mind:
Get warm first. A proper warm-up is critical. Cold temperatures can make your muscles tight and therefore they are more prone to injuries. So, it’s important to get them warmed up prior to engaging in intense physical activity.
Insulate your body. The best approach to dressing for outdoor exercise is with layers. Layering provides the most effective heating method, plus it allows you to remove the top layer if you get too hot. The layer closest to your skin should allow moisture to be wicked away. The top layer should be both wind and water resistant.
Winter Exercise
No sweat. Don’t assume that you have to sweat in order to get a good workout. You should avoid sweating that causes the clothing layer closest to your skin to get wet and cause you to be chilled. Instead monitor your intensity through a heart rate monitor or the Rating of Perceived Exertion.
Don’t strip when you get inside. While you may be tempted to immediately remove your layers when returning inside, give your body time to adjust. Post exercise hypothermia is possible. This happens when your body rapidly loses its heating stores.
Drink up. It’s just as important to stay hydrated when exercising in Winter as it is in Summer, even though you might not feel as thirsty.
Lighten up. If possible, it’s best to exercise outdoors during daylight areas. But, with shorten days that can be difficult to do. If you exercise outdoors when it is dark, wear reflective materials to ensure that you can be seen.
If the thought of getting out to exercise makes you dive under the covers, choose one of the many indoor workout options. Below are just a few of the many choices:
Walk at an indoor location, like a mall. If you need extra motivation to get yourself to the mall, join a walking group. This will help you stay accountable to someone other than yourself.
Join a health club. This will allow you a large variety of physical activities to choose from every week.
Create a home gym. This doesn’t have to be expensive. You can easily set-up a great workout routine with just a set of dumbbells, an exercise ball and a jump rope. Get all of this for around $50.
If you have stairs where you live or close by, spend as little as 20 minutes at a time climbing up and down the stairs for a very intense and efficient workout.
Get wet. Find a local indoor pool you can use. Try swimming, water aerobics, or even just walking or running laps in the water.
Visit a library. Usually local libraries offer exercise videos you can check-out for free. Pick-up a new one to try out every time you return the previous video.
In conclusion
By staying fit during the winter, you’ll be able to avoid gaining weight, get a head start on swimsuit season, and avoid losing strength and stamina caused by inactivity. Just as tulips need winter nourishment from the earth to strongly bloom in spring, humans need to continue to nourish their bodies during winter so they too can bloom come spring.
About the author: Lynn Bode is a certified personal trainer specializing in Internet-based fitness programs. She founded Workouts For You, which provides affordable online exercise programs.
What’s the one thing that you can do to lose weight, re-shape your body, improve muscle tone, become stronger, fight off osteoporosis, lower blood pressure, etc.?
Weight Lifting! Or as it’s also called Strength Training!…
For the rest of this book, I will refer to the art of weight lifting as strength training. One of the reasons a lot of people don’t lift weights is because they are intimidated by the word weight lifting.
It amazes me to see how many people avoid lifting weights for one reason or another.
Let me make sure you are clear of one very important fact.
LIFTING WEIGHTS IS ONE OF THE BEST, IF NOT THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR OVERALL HEALTH!!!
Let’s jump right in and start off by covering exactly “what” strength training is.
It’s actually very simple. Strength training or weight lifting is the lifting of heavy weights and/or resistance in a prescribed manner as an exercise or in an athletic competition.
Notice I said weights and/or resistance. It doesn’t have to necessarily be a weight plate or a dumbbell. We’ll get into that more later.
As simple as that definition of strength training sounds, why are you and so many other people not doing it?
The answer to that is probably one of these two:
1) You’re not sure what to do, or you’re confused about what to do.
2.) You have never realized that strength training can and will build muscle, which in turn will help you look and feel great.
You very well could be on a strength-training program right now.
Even if you are, I want you to really pay attention to what we’re going to talk about for the rest of the book. I’m sure it is going to have you thinking differently about why you should be lifting weights from now on.
We’re going to talk about why developing a strength training program will ultimately help you lose weight, add some muscle tone, look better and feel better about yourself.
We will go over some “myths” about strength training and the real facts behind them.
So, whether you’re new to strength training or you’ve been doing it for years, pay close attention.
MYTHS
Let’s first clear up some of the misconceptions about strength training and the truth behind these myths.
This first myth is the “biggie” and it has prevented many of you from weight lifting (especially women).
It sounds a little something like this; “I don’t want to lift weights because I don’t want to get big and bulky.”
It’s a shame that a lot of people think like this because it is so far from the truth. Let’s explore that myth a little.
When you think of weight lifters, you probably think of body builders, right? You think of the men and women on ESPN parading around in little swimsuits with big bulky muscles popping out all over the place.
There are three reasons for this:
1.) These people are an extremely minute percentage of the population.
2.) That is their livelihood and they spend 4 to 5 hours a day in the gym.
3.) Some of them are using performance-enhancing drugs (steroids, etc.) to look like that
So if you can get that image of the “bodybuilder” out of your head and think in terms of the average everyday person, you will see why the myth about getting bulky is just that, a myth!
What we’re going to talk about next I will try to explain to you in an easy to understand way, without using any medical or professional terminology.
When you lift weights your body builds muscle. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn (even at rest). The more calories you burn the less you weigh.
It’s as simple as that!!!
Let me give you an example of this that might make it a little easier to understand. We’ll talk about 2 women in this example.
Let’s say you and your best friend are sitting on the couch watching some T.V. You personally strength-train 3 times a week, but your friend does not.
After an hour of watching T.V goes by, who will have burned more calories?
The common answer to that would be that you both burned the same (almost nothing), since you weren’t doing anything.
But the actual answer would be that you burned more calories, and I’ll tell you why for one simple reason. THE MORE MUSCLE YOU HAVE THE MORE CALORIES YOU BURN!!
Now you might say to yourself, “But if I lift weights, my muscles will get bigger and I will appear big and bulky.”
This does have a tendency to happen to men sometimes, and that is because of the male hormone testosterone. But what also happens to men, just like women, is that they will get rid of the fat and replace it with lean muscle.
So the lean added muscle will now be there instead of the soft jelly-like fat.
With that said, keep this in mind. Even though men have more testosterone, it would still be very difficult for a man to get big and bulky. You would have to train like a real bodybuilder in order for this to occur. Being genetically blessed doesn’t hurt either.
And if you did see yourself starting to “bulk” up a little, and that’s not what you want, just decrease the amount of weight you are lifting. Very simple.
Women, on the other hand, do not have enough testosterone to even come close to “bulking up”.
This brings us to another myth.
That myth is one of the most popular in the world of exercise, which is, “Muscle weighs more than fat.”
How ridiculous is that saying?
That’s like the old joke, “Which weighs more–10 lbs. of steel or 10 lbs. of feathers?”
Hopefully, by now you know that the answer to that question is that they both really weigh the same. 10 lbs. is 10 lbs. no matter what it is made of.
Let’s go over this in a little more detail.
Muscle is much more compact and dense than fat. It actually takes up less space than fat does because of that. That makes sense, right?
Fat, on the other hand, is very soft and jelly-like and is a lot bigger than muscle. By that I mean it takes up more space than muscle does.
Let me give you another example to clarify this a little more.
If you were to take 10 lbs. of fat and 10 lbs. of muscle and roll each of them into a ball, the 10 lbs. of fat might be the size of a bowling ball. In comparison, the 10 lbs. of muscle would be about the size of a baseball.
Let’s take this a step further and use you and your friend as an example. You and your friend, for argument’s sake, are both 5′ 5″ tall and both weigh the exact same weight of 130 lbs.
Your friend, as we mentioned, does not lift weights or do any kind of strength training. Her dress size is a size 12.
You, on the other hand, lift weights and follow a strength-training program 3 times a week. Your dress size is a size 8.
If you and your friend were standing side by side, people would definitely think that you weighed less than your friend. But in reality, you both weigh exactly the same.
How can that be?
It all relates back to what I said earlier. Muscle does not weigh more than fat, it weighs the same. It is more compact than fat and it takes up less space. So you, the strength trainer, have more muscle than your friend does which means you will take up less space.
That’s why it’s also not a good idea to let the scale be the judge of your progress. You can very well have lost weight, but it won’t show up on the scale sometimes. A good indication of progress is how your clothes fit. If you are getting smaller, or should we say, more compact/dense, you will notice that your clothes are getting a little looser.
Well, all right, you say, “I’ll lift weights, but I’m only lifting light weights and doing lots of repetitions.”
This is another mistake a lot of you are making. Now I’m not saying that this is the wrong way to lift, but it is not the optimal way to go about strength training if you are looking to lose weight and change your body.
So, is it all right for you to lift heavy weights and do fewer repetitions? ABSOLUTELY!!
There’s another statement you need to clear your head of—“I shouldn’t lift heavy weights because that is for bodybuilders.”
You absolutely can and should be lifting heavy weights if you want to change your body!
Let’s take a moment now to recap some of the main ideas we have just covered;
* Lifting weights will not make you bulky (it will make you leaner and more toned)
* Muscle doesn’t weigh more than fat; it’s simply more compact and denser than fat. (Remember, muscle actually takes up less space than fat)
* The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn (even at rest!).
Now you are well informed of why strength training will help you look and feel great. Hopefully, this cleared up any confusion you might have had and now you are ready to “hit the weights.”
“WHAT DO I DO NOW”?
So you now know what strength training is and you know why it will help you change your body.
“But how do I actually go ahead and get started?”
As I said before, this is one of the main reasons if not THE main reason that most people don’t lift weights.
But what if I was to tell you that it’s not nearly as complicated as you might think.
What we’re going to discuss now is the “nuts and bolts” of designing a strength-training program.
Let me first start out by saying that if you are out of shape, haven’t exercised in a while, suffer from any kind of medical condition (heart problems, high blood pressure, etc.), or are over 40 years old, you should make an appointment with your doctor to get a physical to make sure you are ready to start lifting weights.
With that said, here we go!
One of the very popular questions is what equipment do I need to strength train? Or better yet, what equipment is the best?
Luckily, there are plenty of options; machines, free weights (dumbbells), elastic bands, using your own body weight, which is called isometrics (push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, etc.).
I guess the best way to decide what equipment you are going to use is to first decide exactly where you’ll be working out.
Will you be at home, or will you be at some kind of gym or fitness center?
Let’s first explore the many options you have at a gym or fitness center.
Depending on your particular gym, you will probably have the choice of using free weights (dumbbells, weight bars, weight plates, etc.) or machines.
If you are a beginner at lifting weights, I highly recommend you use the machines for a few reasons.
* Almost no chance of injury
* Much easier to use proper form
* Easily change weights via a pin
Also when using machines, especially the newer ones, there is usually a picture on the machine that demonstrates someone doing the actual exercise.
There is also a great product out now that is a ring of 50 pocket-sized exercise cards. They not only show a full-color photo of each exercise, but each card also contains easy-to-read instructions as well as helpful trainer’s tips and common training mistakes, which are found on the back of the cards.
These cards are excellent and I highly recommend them.
Another option is to purchase some really great books.
There are hundreds of great picture books out there to help you get started.
Once you click on the link, you will find some great books that I recommend that are very helpful for the beginner exerciser.
There is, of course, the third option, which is to hire one of the personal trainers that work at your gym or an in-home personal trainer, like myself, who comes to your house and sets you up on a program.
One word of advice if you decide to get a trainer: Make sure this person has the right credentials (personal trainer certification and/or fitness-related degree). Don’t just assume that because they work in a gym or because they call themselves a personal trainer, they are qualified.
It’s always best to watch the trainers for a couple of weeks if you are at a gym, or get a free session from an in-home trainer. See how they operate, how they get along with their other clients, what kind of personality they have, etc. Make sure you think that they will be a good fit for you.
I would personally love to tell you about all of the wonderful exercises you can do, but I would need about 200 pages just to list the pictures and explain the proper form and technique.
Your best move would be to buy the cards (they are great), get your hands on a good “beginner’s exercise” book and/or hire a certified personal trainer.
Are you now saying, “But what if I don’t want to go to the gym, it takes too much time driving, it’s always packed, and I just don’t like the whole gym scene.”
“Can I still lose weight and get in shape at home?”
ABSOLUTELY!!
A lot of people feel the same way that you do. Either they don’t have time to go back and forth to the gym, or they’re just more comfortable working out in the privacy of their own home.
Depending on the space you have, you can make your own little “private” gym just for you and your family.
For this section of the book on working out at home, let’s assume that you don’t have a huge space.
The only things you actually need, believe it or not, are a bench and some free weights (dumbbells).
It would also be a good idea to get some exercise bands that you can use to do lots of different exercises, in addition to bench exercises, that will help diversify your program.
Again, I would highly recommend that you get either the Solotrainer cards or a beginner’s exercise/weight training book to help you get started with your workouts.
Okay, let’s get back to the equipment that you’ll need. First off is a bench.
BENCH
The bench you purchase should be multi-functional. In other words, it should be able to incline as well as be flat. Some benches can even decline in addition to flat and incline. It is not necessary to have a flat/decline/incline bench or even a flat/incline bench, but I definitely recommend it.
It allows you to do a lot more exercises as you get into your program a little more.
FREE WEIGHTS
There are numerous types of free weights to choose from. There are traditional dumbbells that range anywhere between 1 lb. to 200 lbs.
Depending on how much space you have and how much weight you think you’ll be lifting, this will determine what kind of dumbbells you will be looking for.
One item that comes to mind is the PROBELL 30 Classic Adjustable Dumbbell System. It sounds intimidating, but it’s not at all. It’s actually quite a space saver. It is a pair of dumbbells that can go from 2 1/2 lbs. to 30 lbs. each, in 2 1/2 pound increments, with the turn of a dial. So in other words, you get 12 pairs of dumbbells all in 1 pair.
This is a great product, and I definitely recommend it, especially if you want to save some space.
Another option, or rather an accompaniment, to the bench and free weights, is exercise bands.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with these, they are elastic rubber bands with handles at the ends and some companies also have ankle straps for leg exercises.
I personally use these myself and with all my clients. I love them!!!
Free weights
BODYLASTICS is a great company that makes an excellent little package. It includes 4 bands (each one a little harder), 2 handles, 2 ankle straps, 1 door anchor, and a video and booklet. At the time of this printing, the price for the package is $50. It’s a great value.
You can also find these on my website under the “Products” page.
Okay, now you know what equipment you’ll need, but what about questions like:
* How many days a week? * How many sets and repetitions? * When do I change my routine?
These are all very good questions. Let’s take a look at the first question now.
HOW MANY DAYS A WEEK?
There is not a straight forward simple answer to this question. It really all comes down to two things:
1.) How many days can you realistically devote to lifting weights?
2.) How much improvement are you really looking to get from your program?
Before we address these two questions let me first say that lifting weights once a week is probably not enough and four or five times a week might be a little too much (especially for a beginner).
That leaves us with 2 or 3 times a week.
As you can probably imagine, 2 times a week is good but 3 times a week is better.
This is of course assuming that you are training every body part during each workout. Some people prefer to train 1 or 2 body parts a day. There are good and bad points to this.
The good thing is that since you are only training 1 or 2 body parts (an example would be training your chest and triceps) you can really do a lot of exercises for each body part. The bad thing is that if you train 2 body parts per work out, and since there are 6 major body parts (chest, back, triceps, biceps, shoulders, and legs), even if you work out 3 times a week you will only be able to train each body part once.
That’s why I recommend training every body part, every work out. This way you’ll be training every body part at least twice or maybe even three times a week. The most bang for your buck.
So, getting back to the issue of how many days a week. If you have the time and you are really looking to see some changes in your body, I definitely say go for 3 times a week.
With that said, if you really aren’t sure about the time issue and if you are a beginner, start out at 2 times a week.
This will give you a chance to ease into it. Once you’re comfortable, in a routine, and you find that you have time to add an extra day, then consider bumping it up to 3 times a week.
HOW MANY SETS AND REPETITIONS?
Let’s first start out by explaining what sets and repetitions are.
When you do any particular exercise, let’s say the arm curl, each time you curl the weight up and bring it back down would be considered a repetition.
Now let’s say you did 12 repetitions, took a break for 1 minute, then did another 12 repetitions. You would have done 2 sets of 12 repetitions.
Simple, right?
What sometimes seems confusing for some people is that they think they should do a certain number of sets and reps (reps is short for repetitions).
The fact is that there is no certain number of sets and reps that you should be doing. It will probably vary from time to time, based on your goals.
The one BIG mistake a lot of people make is doing too many repetitions.
Often times at the gym I’ll see someone doing 20 or 30 reps.
Now like I said, there is a place for that depending on your goals. Certain sports require extensive muscular endurance, in which case you should do a lot of reps.
But your goal is to lose weight, get stronger, and change your body. So the best way to achieve that is to lift a weight that is heavy enough to fatigue your muscles between 8 and 12 reps.
Remember, YOU WILL NOT GET BULKY!
Okay, so what if you can lift a weight for 13, 14, or 15 reps and beyond?
Very simple. Just increase the weight slightly and that will get you into the 8 to 12 rep range.
HOW MANY SETS SHOULD I DO?
The same thing applies here as it does to the number of reps; nothing is set in stone.
I can give you a recommendation though. 1 set is definitely not enough and depending on how much time you have to exercise, 4 or 5 sets might be too time-consuming.
If you are first starting out, I would say do 2 sets for each exercise. Just like with the number of days you are lifting, it’s a good way to ease into it. Also, starting out right away with 3 sets will probably leave you feeling very sore for the first week or so.
And just like with the days of the week, a good goal to shoot for is to work your way up to 3 sets. This will make sure you are working your muscles to fatigue, and that’s when you will really start to notice some changes.
And again, you’ll see as you get into it more and more, you might want to challenge yourself and add in a 4th or 5th set on some exercises.
This ties in nicely to our 3rd question.
WHEN DO I CHANGE MY ROUTINE?
Never!
Just kidding. That’s actually another big mistake that a lot of people make. They do the same thing over and over again, day in and day out.
That will work for a beginner just starting out, and you will see some improvement, but after about 6 to 8 weeks you will start to plateau.
Your muscles need to be challenged or “shocked” in order to stimulate them.
On the other hand, you also want your muscles to adapt and improve to the increasing weight.
By that I mean you want to give your muscles a chance to get stronger and you want to be able to increase the weights on the same exercise and see what the most weight is that you can actually lift on that same exercise.
For that reason, you don’t want to change your routine every time either.
“So what’s the bottom line then? How often should I change my routine?”
A good rule of thumb to follow is to keep your routine relatively the same for about 6 to 8 weeks, then make some changes.
“What exactly do you mean by changing the routine?”
The best way to change your routine is to do totally different exercises. Let’s say, for example, that for your leg muscles you’ve been doing leg presses, lunges, and leg extensions. For a complete change, you can now do squats, leg curls, and abduction (for the outer thigh).
Other changes include;
* changing from using a free weight to a machine for a particular exercise.
* doing 4 or 5 sets instead of 3.
* Switch the order of your exercises. Instead of training your chest, back, biceps, shoulders, legs, and triceps, you can do just the reverse. Triceps, legs, shoulders, etc.
The possibilities are endless. The nice thing is that there is no “wrong” way.
This brings up a good point. There is no wrong routine, but your form and/or technique can be wrong.
Always remember to use a slow, controlled motion. Don’t use momentum or “jerk” the weights around.
It should take you approximately 2 to 3 seconds to lift or push the weight (which is called the positive) and 3 to 4 seconds to lower or let down the weight (which is called the negative).
That’s right, it should take you a little longer to lower the weight than it takes to raise it.
Most people do the opposite and that’s why you see a lot of people using momentum and jerking the weights around. You’re not using your muscles when you do it like this.
And that’s really it! As you can see, it’s not all that difficult. What it does take is a commitment. If you can make a commitment and be consistent with your strength training program, I guarantee you that you will be successful and notice considerable changes in the way you look and feel.
With that said, just take a moment now and look over the main areas of a successful strength-training program:
* The optimal strength training routine should be performed 2 to 3 days/wk.
* you should do 2 to 3 sets for each exercise.
* use a weight that will fatigue or challenge you to do between 8 and 12 reps.
* change your routine approximately every 6 to 8 weeks to prevent plateaus.
* always use proper form; slow, controlled movements. No jerking the weight or using momentum.
* and most importantly, make sure to visit your doctor and get a physical so you know you have no medical conditions that would prevent you from participating in a strength training routine.
There you have it, a nice little introduction to the world of strength training. Something that I hope will help you get started.
So give strength training a try, you have nothing to lose (except for maybe a few pounds of fat!!!).
Kevin Valluzzi is a certified, personal trainer with his own training business, A & B Fitness. He does online training programs and is a Fitness By Phone coach as well.
Do you want to improve the quality of your life? Do you want to look and feel better than you have in years – maybe better than you ever have before? Do you want to protect yourself from disease and injury? And do you want to live a longer, more vital life?
I’m confident that you answered YES! to each of those questions, just as the hundreds of individuals I’ve counseled, coached, and trained in my career as a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer and Rehabilitation Specialist.
I’m now going to reveal to you the 16 essential strategies that have enabled my clients to achieve the health and fitness goals they always wanted!
16 Essential Weight Loss and Fitness Strategies:
1. In the beginning, your fitness program should not be overly aggressive. One of the biggest problems people encounter when starting a fitness program is rapidly depleted motivation after only a few weeks due to an overly ambitious fitness program. Attempting to do too much too fast is worse than doing nothing at all! Because then you feel like exercise is too hard and it’s just not for you.
Start out slow, maybe just shooting for 1 or 2 workouts a week. Once you have successfully added that to your normal routine, then attempt to slowly add to your fitness program. Plus, most people don’t need to exercise more than 3-4 times a week. That doesn’t mean you can’t exercise more; it’s just not necessary.
2. Always have a detailed plan! In order to reach your health and fitness goals, you must have a road map to follow. I can’t stress this enough. If you are unsure of how to put together a fitness plan, or if you’re uncertain of the effectiveness of the one you have, I highly recommend you consult a professional fitness trainer. With a well-thought-out plan, you are much more likely to be successful!
3. Set realistic, attainable goals. You must have tangible, quantifiable, short and long-term goals so you can measure and assess your progress. Too many people have totally unrealistic expectations of what to expect from an exercise and nutrition program. The best way for you to understand what is realistic and attainable is to talk with a fitness professional – not to buy into the “hype” of infomercials and diet and fitness products that are blatantly misleading.
4. Keep a journal! This is one of the most important things you can do. If you’re not tracking what you’re doing, how will you know what worked? There are quite a few great exercise and nutrition logs I’ve come across. You should keep track of all your exercise and also each day’s food intake.
5. You must be accountable! Set exercise appointments with yourself if you’re not working with a personal fitness trainer. Use your appointment book to set aside times for exercise, just like you do for meetings or events. Don’t let things get in the way. Nothing is more important than your health! If you don’t have your health you can’t effectively do anything. I often have mothers tell me that they can’t find time to exercise because they have to take care of their children. I have 4 daughters myself, and a baby on the way, so I know exactly how hard it is. Whatever your situation is, making the commitment to exercise and your health is possible and very important. Plus, it sets a great example for the children!
6. Remember the benefits of exercise. Being physically fit affects every aspect of your life: you sleep better, eat better, love better, overcome stress better, work better, communicate better, and live better! Remember how good it feels to finish a workout, and how great it feels to meet your goals!
7. Exercise safely and correctly. So much time is wasted doing, at best, unproductive exercise, or at worst, dangerous exercise. Educate yourself on how to exercise correctly. The best way to do that is to hire a personal fitness trainer. It could be for just a few sessions to learn the basics, or it could be for a few months to learn everything. It’s completely up to you. But statistics prove that those who understand how to exercise correctly get better, faster results. And that’s what you want, right?
16 Fitness Tips
8. Enjoy your exercise! For example, if you hate doing strength training, try to find ways to make it more enjoyable. Circuit training might be a more fun and exciting way to fit this important part of fitness into your program. The key is you should enjoy it, and if you don’t you need to look for other exercises or activities to replace whatever it is you don’t enjoy.
If you don’t enjoy it, how do you expect to stick with it?
9. Make time to stretch! It has so many benefits and takes very little time. So many people suffer from various aches and pains, of which most can be eliminated by basic stretches! Try to spend at least 5 minutes after each workout stretching.
10. Don’t think you need to exercise 5 days a week! I touched on this earlier. Many people feel they’re getting fat because they’re not exercising. Totally not the case! Exercise is not the answer! It’s all in your eating habits. However, exercise can aid in burning body fat, plus there are numerous health benefits. Think of exercise as a bonus.
How many people do you know who exercise 3-5 times per week, but still fail to meet their weight loss and fitness goals? I’ve met hundreds!
First look at your eating habits, such as: when you eat, what you eat, how much you eat, where you eat, and how often you eat.
11. Never skip breakfast or any meal! If you want to maximize your fitness or fat-loss efforts, you’ve got to eat breakfast! So many people skip breakfast, and it’s the worst thing you could ever do when it comes to fat loss. Skipping meals throws your blood sugar all out of whack and it sets you up to store your next meal as fat, almost guaranteed!
12. Eat fat to lose fat. Healthy fats are necessary to your body for numerous reasons: regulating hormonal production, improving immune function, lowering total cholesterol, and providing the basics for healthy hair, nails, and skin.
The key is to eat the right types of fat. The “good’ fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats like olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, and avocados, to name a few. The “bad” fats are partially hydrogenated oils and trans fats. Most processed foods contain large amounts of these bad fats.
13. Drink plenty of fresh, clean water. Yes, I know that you have probably heard this one over and over again. But there’s a reason for that – it’s that important! The recommended daily intake of water is 8 glasses or 64 oz. You should even be drinking even more if you are active or exercise regularly.
And no, soda, juice, coffee, and tea DON’T count! Nearly every chemical process placed in your body takes place in water! Proper blood flow and digestion are both affected by how much water you drink, and poor blood flow and digestion can be linked to numerous health conditions.
14. Stabilize your blood sugar! If you want to burn fat and prevent your body from putting it back on, you must stabilize your blood sugar. In order to do this, you need to eat small, balanced meals or snacks every 2-3 hours.
Fasting, skipping meals, and overly restrictive diets will enable you to lose weight – in the short run. The weight you lose is primarily water weight and muscle tissue, and in the long run, it has the opposite effect of what you want. When you restrict your diet, your body instinctively thinks it’s being starved and shifts into a protective mode by slowing down the metabolism and storing nearly all calories as body fat. Plus, losing muscle tissue is the last thing you want to do. Muscle burns calories, even while you sleep. You should be focused on increasing or at least maintaining muscle tissue.
15. Focus on increasing muscle tissue. As I mentioned previously, muscle burns calories, so if you want to increase your metabolism, you have to increase your muscle. The best way to do that is with progressive strength training. That doesn’t mean you have to join a gym, buy expensive fitness equipment, or follow some bodybuilding workout program; it simply means you need to challenge your muscles! You can do that at home in just 15-20 minutes, 2-3 times a week.
16. Get the help of an expert! Obviously, meeting your health and fitness goals is important to you, so why not eliminate the guesswork and start seeing the results you have always wanted? With the help of a qualified professional you can!
If your car breaks down, where do you take it? Mechanic, right? How about if you have a cavity? Dentist. So why is it that so many people attempt to solve their health and fitness problems without consulting an expert? I don’t know exactly, but I encourage you to make an investment in yourself- in your life- by hiring a professional to educate you and help you meet your goals.
So there you have it. The 16 essential strategies for an effective weight loss and fitness program that will have you looking and feeling great!
By Jesse Cannone CFT, CPRS, SPN
Jesse Cannone is a certified personal trainer and author of the best-selling fitness ebook, Burn Fat FAST. Be sure to sign up for his free email course as it is full of powerful weight loss and fitness tips that are guaranteed to help you get the results you want. http://www.guaranteed-weightloss.com
While exercising isn’t complicated, it’s very easy to make mistakes. Oftentimes, mistakes are made because of a lack of proper technique training or simply due to rushing to get the workout completed. Regardless of the reason for the mistakes, they can lead to injuries or, at the very least, be counter-productive to your fitness goals.
Of course, it’s important to know specifically what to do to be successful at meeting your health and fitness goals, but it is also crucial to understand what not to do. So take note of the following common mistakes and how to avoid them. These tips will help ensure your workout time is effective and help prevent injuries.
Too Much, Too Soon:
Many new exercisers try to lose weight or tone up too quickly, by exercising too frequently or trying exercise programs that are too difficult for their fitness level. Be sure to start with an exercise plan that takes your current fitness regimen (or lack thereof) into account.
Pie In The Sky Goals:
Despite what many advertisers would like you to believe, it’s unrealistic to think you can lose 30 pounds in 30 days or that you can have Hollywood abs simply by doing 10 minutes of crunches a day. It’s good to set goals, but be sure they aren’t too aggressive and realize it’s okay to periodically re-define them.
Ignoring Expert Advice:
It’s always advisable to consult your physician before starting an exercise program. Working with a fitness professional is also a good idea so you can learn proper technique, the latest fitness information and learn how to avoid injuries.
Over-exercising:
If you start to feel overwhelmed, neglect important daily activities in order to work out, or repeatedly get injured, then it might be due to exercising too frequently. Realize the importance of balance and that more is not always better. Consider reducing the frequency of your workouts or the intensity of some of them and periodically resting for a few days or a week.
Improper Breathing:
Sure, breathing is an involuntary bodily function; something that most individuals tend to ignore. But, breathing correctly during fitness sessions is very important. Incorrect breathing can lead to a lack of oxygen and even faintness. When working out, ensure that you don’t breathe too shallowly and try to breathe through the nose and out the mouth.
Remember to breathe properly
Selecting the wrong size:
Choosing the proper weight size when strength training is trickier than it sounds. Lifting weights that are too heavy for you can lead to improper form and, ultimately, injuries. Use weights that are too light and the exercise session can be ineffective. If possible, consult a fitness trainer to determine the correct amount of weight for your size, strength, and goals. A trainer can also help you develop a plan for safely progressing forward in weight sizes.
Not Staying Hydrated:
Drinking enough water on a daily basis is important. When you exercise, you need to consume even more water. You should drink 16 ounces for every hour of exercise you complete. Plus, you should try to consume 1-2 cups of water for about 30 minutes before you begin working out.
Eating too little No, that’s not a typo:
Not eating enough can be as detrimental as eating too much. When the body is not fed consistently, it goes into starvation mode. Five to six smaller meals evenly spaced throughout the day help keep the metabolism running smoothly. Just be sure to control portion size.
Hanging Out Instead Of Working Out:
Just showing up at the gym is not going to help you get more fit. Socializing while leaning on a weight machine won’t build muscles. It’s important to enjoy your exercise time but make sure that the focus remains on physical activity.
Fixated On The Scale:
If you think the scale doesn’t lie, consider this. Many professional athletes would be considered obese based on their weight alone. Look at the bigger and more relevant picture. If possible, monitor your body fat percentage. Otherwise, track measurements. Also, don’t underestimate the importance of improved physical and mental well-being.
About the author:
Lynn Bode is a certified personal trainer specializing in Internet-based fitness programs. She founded Workouts For You, which provides affordable online exercise programs that are custom designed for each individual.
