Friday, June 4th, 2010
Sooner or later most people reach a point in their life where they begin to understand the importance of regular exercise. When you’re in your 20s and 30s, exercise usually isn’t on the list of priorities. Your body is still resilient enough and your metabolism fast enough to maintain some semblance of fitness. But age catches up with us all and one day you’ll begin to experience that inevitable physical decline. And with the epidemic of obesity now taking place, many people are losing their fitness even earlier.
Maybe you lack the funds to pay club dues, or aren’t close enough to a fitness facility. In that case, working out at home is the best option. There is a huge variety of home fitness machines available. A low impact aerobic exercise, such as walking, is the best thing to start with.
Walking outside is an option, and a good one, but not comfortable in all types of weather. You can get a treadmill for personal use, but in the past decade a new exercise machine has come along that combines the function of a treadmill with that of a stair stepper and an elliptical machine: the Bowflex Treadclimber.
Most people have heard the name Bowflex before and associate it with resistance training. The Treadclimber, however, is professional-quality workout machine you can use in your own home.
What’s special about a Treadclimber workout is the way the machine works your body. You’re not only walking, but actually clmbing as well, just as you would on a stair stepper, all the while providing a reduced impact motion like that of an elliptical machine. Low impact means less stress on your joints as you exercise, especially on your knees and lower back.
Instead of a single rotating tread like that of a treadmill, the Treadclimber has two separate tread platforms that move up and down independently of each other. This imitates a gradual climbing movement that not only makes it easier to raise your heart rate, but also exerts a toning action on the lower body.
There’s a wealth of Treadclimber information available on the Internet, and a variety of user reviews. There are several models available, from an entry level model priced at around $1,000 to a top-of-the line model at around $2,000. When you’re read for a great cardio workout, you’ll find the Bowflex Treadclimber can provide one to you.
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Monday, February 8th, 2010
If you are new to bodybuilding, everything can be very overwhelming. The problem is if you ask a 100 people how to get started, you will get 100 different answers. I will try to answer some of the basic questions everyone asks:
Should I Join A Gym Or Workout At Home?
If you have access to a gym, this is definitely the best choice. There are too many distractions in a home. If you are a very discipline person, then working out at home may be an option. For the average person, home workouts do not last.
Once you decide where you are going to workout, you have to decide on a time of day that works best for your schedule. Try to pick a time that you know will have the least distractions. If you have a family and kids, try to get to the gym before work. Or see if you can get in a workout at lunch. Whatever you chose, just be consistent with your workouts.
An added benefit to joining a gym is you can work with a personal trainer and have a personalize workout routine setup for your body type. If you decide to workout at home, there are plenty of books and magazines that can help you setup a workout routine.
What kind of workout routine should I follow?
If you are just starting out, I would start out with a routine that hits each body part once a week:
Day 1: chest/Back/Biceps
Chest:
Dumbbell Bench Press – One warm-up set of 15 reps followed by 3 sets of 12 reps.
Incline Bench Press – Three sets of 12 reps.
Dumbell Flyes – Three sets of 15 reps.
Back:
Lat Pulldowns To The Front – One warm-up set of 15 reps followed by 3 sets of 12 reps.
One Arm Dumbell Row – Three sets of 12 reps.
Low Cable row – Three sets of 12 to 15 reps.
Biceps:
Straight Bar or EZ Bar Curls – Three sets of 12 to 15 reps.
Alternating Seated Dumbbell Curls – Three sets of 12 to 15 reps.
Day 2: Cardio
Half hour on the treadmill or elliptical trainer.
Day 3: Shoulders/Triceps/Abs:
Shoulders:
DB Should Press – One warm-up set of 15 reps followed by 3 sets of 12 reps.
Lateral Raises – Three sets of 12 to 15 reps.
Triceps:
Cable Pushdowns – Three sets of 12 to 15 reps.
EZ Bar Skull Crushers – Three sets of 12 reps.
Abs:
Crunches – Three sets of 20 to 30 reps.
Day 4: Cardio
Half hour on the treadmill or elliptical trainer.
Day 5: Quadriceps/ Hamstrings/Calves
Quads:
Leg Press – One warm-up set of 15 reps followed by 3 sets of 12 reps.
Squats – One warm-up set of 12-15 reps followed by 3 sets of 12 reps.
Alternating DB Lunge – Three sets of 12 to 15 reps.
Hamstrings:
DB Stiff Leg Deadlift – One warm-up set of 15 reps followed by 3 sets of 12 reps.
Calves:
Standing or seated Calf Raises – One warm-up set of 15 reps followed by 4 sets of 15-20 reps.
Day 6: Optional Cardio
Half hour on the treadmill, elliptical trainer or fast walk.
Try to keep a journal of your workouts (including weights and times). This will help you keep track of your progress. Following the workout for a few months increasing the weights whenever you can. Try to keep strict form to avoid injury.
Should I use nutritional supplements?
Definitely! When you workout, you are breaking your muscle down. Your body requires nutrients to build the muscle back up. Building muscle is 10% working out and 90% nutrients/rest. You build your muscle when you are resting.
If I have to pick the top bodybuilding supplements, it would be in this order:
a)Multi Vitamin – Make sure your body has all the necessary nutrients, antioxidants and minerals to build muscle.
b)Whey Protein – Try to make sure you eat at least 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight if you are following a workout routine.
c)Creatine – Try for 5 grams of creatine a day. If you have a sensitive stomach, try Kre-Alkalyn.
d)Water – Water is not a supplement…but it is very important. Drinking lots of water keeps the muscles full and helps flush your body of toxins.
With the supplements listed above, also make sure you stick to healthy foods like oatmeal, egg whites, tuna, chicken, brown rice, vegetables, etc. If you need to cheat, do so in moderation. Try to stay away from processed foods, sugar and alcohol.
Eating small meals 5-6 times a day is more beneficial then 3 meals a day. It keeps your muscles fueled throughout the day.
By following the advice above, you will be well on your way to develop the body you dreamed about. The key to bodybuilding is consistency. If you stay consistent, you will succeed!
Warren Kuhl
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/beginning-bodybuilding-questionsanswers-122993.html
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Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
If you are like me, then you will probably know that using free weights and machines is the fastest and most efficient way there is to improve your metabolism and strength but for many reasons these may not be convenient or readily accessible to you.
You may also have no access to a commercial gym, home gym or are on business trip, but there can be a solution, a strength-training workout without the need of expensive machines.
As with any exercise, whether you are using your own body weight, machines or free weights, if the resistance doesn’t increase, your muscles won’t be worked to their maximum capacity and the stimulus these fibres need to grow will be missing.
Exercises done correctly will build the lean muscle and increase your metabolism in the same way as performing exercises at a gymnasium, but without the time constraints and associated costs.
These exercises can be easily done in a bedroom, hotel room, a park, school yard, ceiling rafters in a garage or in a doorway and all you have to do is use your imagination. There will always be a way to add more resistance to your workouts.
Please remember: It doesn’t matter where you are working out – at home, a hotel, or a park – always warm up properly before beginning your session, and cool down and stretch when you are finished.
Leg Exercises
Squats –
They build muscle in the thighs, shape the buttocks and improve endurance. Position your feet about 13 to 17 inches apart or at shoulder width, keeping the back straight and your head up. If you want you can use something that will give you some support, i.e. a desk, bookcase, sink etc.
Now squat down to where the tops of the thighs are parallel to the floor, hold for a second and then stand up, but don’t bounce at the bottom of the movement, use a nice fluid motion. Always exhale your breath as you stand up.
Lunges –
Stand straight in correct posture; now stand with one leg forward and one leg back. Keeping your abdominal muscles tight and chest up, lower your upper body down, bending your leg (don’t step out too far).
You should have about one to two feet between your feet at this stage, the further forward you step, and the more your gluteus and hamstring muscles will have to work.
Do not allow your knee to go forward beyond your toes as you come down and stop where your feel comfortable (try not to let your back come forward) then push directly back up. Do all your reps on one leg then switch legs and do all your reps on the other leg.
Back Exercises
Chin-ups –
Chin-ups are a great upper body workout, particularly targeting your biceps, deltoid and lat muscles. Use a doorway chin-up bar, ceiling rafters in a garage or grab the moulding of your door frame, position your hands with an under hand grip and hang down stretching the lats, slowly raise your body until your chin reaches the bar level.
Pause a moment before slowly lowering yourself back to the starting position. Don’t swing or use momentum to get your body to the top, just use the target muscles. Doorway chinning bars remove from the doorway when you are not using them and can be put up and taken down in seconds.
Bent Over Row –
Take up a position with your right hand and right knee braced on a sturdy bed or some other flat surface that will provide a good support. Now pick up a dumbbell or something heavy that you can hold onto with your left hand.
Visualize your arms as hooks and slowly bring the dumbbell or object up to the side of your chest, keeping your back straight, then lower the weight back down to arms length, no lower, on extremes, safe form only please.
Concentrate on your back muscles. Reverse the whole procedure and do the exercise now with your right arm.
chest exercises
Push-Up –
The push up is used for building chest, shoulders and arms. Lie face down on the floor with your hands about shoulder width apart and keeping your palms turned slightly inward. Now push-up until your arms are straight, lower and repeat for repetitions.
To make it more difficult elevate your feet. Try placing the toes of your feet on a stable, elevated surface such as a bench, chair or a stair.
Straightening your body, position your hands on the floor at shoulder width, lower your body until your chest touches the floor at the bottom, and then return to the starting position in a nice fluid motion.
Dips –
This exercise can be done between two sturdy chairs or other surfaces that provide stability. The dip is another great upper body exercise. It’s a compound movement as well and involves working all the muscles that the push up works.
Keep your head up and body as vertical as possible. For the beginning of the movement, start at the top (arms fully extended) and lower yourself until your upper arms are parallel to the seat of the chairs, hold and then push up to the top of the movement until your arms are fully extended again.
Keep looking straight ahead and don’t bounce at the bottom of the movement.
Adding Weight
Although the simple weight of your own body is enough resistance to provide an effective workout we need progressive overload (added resistance) to become stronger.
So all we need to do is add some weight wherever we can find some. Because there are no metal plates and fancy machines to use it doesn’t matter because the body doesn’t care where it is as long as it’s receiving resistance of some kind.
You can use heavy books clasped in your hands. You can buy some cheap weighted dumbbells or ankle weights. A weighted vest will also allow you to add resistance for both chin-ups and push-ups.
Try to buy one that will let you remove and add weight as you see fit. Also a backpack filled with books can be perfect for most of the exercises and is a cheap alternative.
How about a couple of buckets and fill them with a certain level of water? As you get stronger fill them with more water. This is perfect because depending on the exercise, all you need to do is to increase or decrease the amount of water in the buckets for the required amount of resistance.
To wrap things up we know that using free weights and machines are the fastest and most efficient way there is to gain lean muscle and strength, but by performing the exercises in this article you’ll find that they will provide you with the same benefits as going to a gymnasium but without the ongoing costs and time constraints.
Gary Matthews
http://www.articlesbase.com/equipment-articles/want-to-workout-without-a-gym-122473.html
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