|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
Build More Muscle and Lose More Fat by Discovering the Power of Training Variables!
Everyone will inadvertently hit a frustrating plateau in their training at one time or another. You're cruising along for a while, gaining strength, losing fat, looking better, and then all of the sudden it hits. Suddenly, you find yourself even weaker than before on your lifts, or you find that you've gained back a couple of pounds. It happens to everyone. Most of the time, these plateaus occur because people rarely change their training variables over time. Many people stick to the same types of exercises for the same basic sets and reps and rest periods with the same boring cardio routine. Well, I hope to open your mind and bring some creativity to your workouts with this article! There are many ways that you can strategically modify your training variables to assure that you maximize your fat loss and/or muscle building response to exercise. Most people only think about changing their sets and reps performed, if they even think about changing their routine at all. However, other variables that can dramatically affect your results are changing the order of exercises (sequence), exercise grouping (super-setting, circuit training, tri-sets, etc.), exercise type (multi-joint or single joint, free-weight or machine based), the number of exercises per workout, the amount of resistance, the time under tension, the base of stability (standing, seated, on stability ball, one-legged, etc.), the volume of work (sets x reps x distance moved), rest periods between sets, repetition speed, range of motion, exercise angle (inclined, flat, declined, bent over, upright, etc), training duration per workout, and training frequency per week. Sounds like a lot of different training aspects to consider in order to obtain the best results from your workouts, doesn't it? Well, that's where a knowledgeable personal trainer can make sense of all of this for you to make sure that your training doesn't get stale. Below are a few examples to get your mind working to come up with more creative and result producing workouts. Most people stick to workouts where they do something along the lines of 3 sets of 10-12 reps per exercise, with 2-3 minutes rest between sets. Booooorrrrring! Here are a few examples of different methods to spice up your routine. ?Try 10 sets of 3, with only 20 seconds rest between sets. ?Try using a heavier weight and complete 6 sets of 6 reps, doing a 3 minute treadmill sprint between each weight lifting set. ?Try using a near maximum weight and do 10 sets of 1 rep, with 30 seconds rest between sets. ?Try using a lighter than normal weight and do 1 set of 50 reps for each exercise ?Try a workout based on only one full body exercise, such as barbell clean & presses or dumbbell squat & presses, and do nothing but that exercise for an intense 20 minutes. ?Try a workout based on all bodyweight exercises such as pushups, pull-ups, chin-ups, dips, bodyweight squats, lunges, etc. ?Try a circuit of 12 different exercises covering the entire body without any rest between exercises. ?Try that same 12 exercise circuit on your subsequent workout, but do the entire circuit in the reverse order. ?Try your usual exercises at a faster repetition speed on one workout and then at a super-slow speed on your next workout. ?Try completing five 30 minute workouts one week, followed by three 1-hr workouts the next week. ?Try doing drop sets of all of your exercises, where you drop the weight between each set and keep doing repetitions without any rest until complete muscular fatigue (usually about 5-6 sets in a row). There are many more ways to continue to change your training variables. I hope this article gave you some ideas on methods for you to take your body to the next level. ©2005 truthaboutabs.com Michael Geary - NCSF CPT, AFAA CPT; Visit http://truthaboutabs.com to discover innovative training and nutritional strategies for losing body fat and developing a rock hard body!
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
New Bodybuilding Study on the Benefits of Deadlifts Deadlifts are a very potential muscle-building exercise, that will rejuvenate your entire physical condition, to a whole new level -- if executed astutely. Successful Body Building Routine There are some major key parts to a successful body building routine. I will go over a routine that was created by a personal trainer for me, and it worked wonderfully. Train for the Look You Want So the Olympics are almost upon us. While you have the chance, compare the differences between a marathon (long distance) runner's body and a sprinter's body. What do you notice? The long-distance runner is skinny, frail, kind of bony, thin and almost sickly looking. On the other hand, the sprinter has well developed muscles, and looks strong, fit, healthy. One Simple Movement Can Double the Effectiveness of Pulldowns The Pulldown is an excellent exercise for working the Latissimus Dorsi muscles of the back (also known as the lats). It is a little known fact but there is a way you can dramatically improve the effectiveness of this exercise by performing one simple movement before each rep. Can Growth Hormone Boosters Enhance Muscle Growth? Many experts feel that supplementation with growth hormones offers exciting possibilities to adult bodybuilders, especially those aged over thirty. They should not be taken by anyone aged under twenty. In the past growth hormone was available only in injectable form but recent years have seen the development of HGH precursors and more advanced delivery systems. The most popular means of taking growth hormone boosters today include sub-lingual spray, homeopathic pills and capsules containing HGH secretagogues. The Baby Boomer Athlete Are you a Baby Boomer? If you were born between the years of 1946 to 1964, you are part of the 79.1 million Boomers, comprising 29 percent of the total US population. According to the AARP, every seven seconds a Baby Boomer turns 50! And, about one-third of Americans who take part in sports activities are Boomers. The Biggest Muscle Mass Gain Myths Exposed Performing low repetition/heavy weight workouts will enable you to build muscle mass, however they will only do so for a very short period of time. The reason is that your body is always striving to maintain homeostasis, other wise know as the status quo, or to remain the same. Your body is not interested in building muscle mass, and in getting bigger and stronger, your body is interested in survival and in avoiding change. In order to do this your body has developed many mechanisms that allow you to quickly adapt to a host of possible stimuli's and stresses. So by repeatedly performing low repetition/heavy weight workouts, your body will quickly adapt to this form of stress, and as a result stay the same. Power Mass Training for Building Muscle Mass Many people believe you need to train with a variety ofweights and reps in order to maximize your muscle buildingprogress. I believe that you can find the appropriate repnumber for your muscles and it is best to stick with thatrange most of the time. The Basics Of Dumbells And Dumbbell Workouts Dumbbells are integral to a long term fitness and personalstrengthening plan. Dumbbells are individual weights thatare best used as part of your overall fitness workout eachday. Exercise The Right Way - One-Arm Dumbbell Rows Other articles in this series looked at a number of exercises, mainly from the perspective of developing a comprehensive muscle building program. Sometimes we take things for granted, especially when it comes to performing the basic exercises that constitute the core of most bodybuilders' training regimes. Are You Over Training in the Gym? Every set was taken to positive failure, with three or more forced reps on top of that and if that wasn't enough I would throw in a few negative reps to top it off. This type of training would leave me totally exhausted and render me sore for days after every session. Targeting Those Trouble Spots Wouldn't it be great if you could get rid of that excess fat on your stomach or tighten up those hips and thighs? How many times have you tried diet and exercise to target your trouble spots only to see slow or no progress? How many people do you know that have been down that same path, probably multiple times? Protein or Carbohydrates? This has got to be the biggest controversy in modern bodybuilding. Bodybuilders will say you've got to consume loads of protein to pack on quality muscle mass and increase strength. Nutrition experts say that you must eat a high carbohydrate diet, particularly complex carbs, to improve strength and size, and say that a high protein is of no benefit. Exercise The Right Way - The Incline Dumbbell Bench Press Other articles in this series looked at a number of exercises, mainly from the perspective of developing a comprehensive muscle building program. Sometimes we take things for granted, especially when it comes to performing the basic exercises that constitute the core of most bodybuiders' training regimes. The Importance of Maintaining A Weight Training Log Do you find gyms intimidating? Feel lost while doing your workouts? Tried different programs with no results? Not always sure of want exercises you are supposed to be doing? Or maybe you're burnt out on the exercises your doing. A weight-training log may be exactly what you need. Exercise The Right Way - The Hammer Curl Other articles in this series looked at a number of exercises, mainly from the perspective of developing a comprehensive muscle building program. Sometimes we take things for granted, especially when it comes to performing the basic exercises that constitute the core of most bodybuiders' training regimes. How To Get A Flat, Toned Stomach One of the most common fitness questions this time of year is "How can I tone my stomach for swimsuit season"? Typically, people believe that the guaranteed quick route to obtaining a rock-solid six-pack is a path packed with hundreds of sit-ups or abdominal crunches. Wrong! Use This Quick Muscle Building Program for Fast Results Quick muscle building is the goal of every underweight guy who hits the gym and embarks on a weight training program for the first time. After all, who wants to wait years for the results? The Dangerous Secret of Extreme Muscle Growth You've decided to join a gym, but you're not sure the best way to work out, and don't want to pay for a personal trainer who may not really know what he's talking about? Already an experienced weight lifter, but aren't getting the results you want? Read on for the best tips for working out if you have a full gym facility, and the secret to extreme muscle growth.Before and AfterYou should always warm up before lifting any weights. This means a light jog or other low-impact activity that will raise your heart rate and raise your core temperature by a few degrees. This should last at least 5 minutes, preferably 10 or more. After this, you should do joint rotations. This is not a stretch, it is preparing the joint for work by encouraging blood flow. Then, do the resistance training. At the end, stretch all of the joints you have worked that day. Studies have shown that stretching before weight training actually reduces the muscle's capacity, and does not prevent injury as was previously thought. Stretching after the work out will protect the joint and prevent cramping.After working out you will also need an increased intake of protein because that is what muscles are made of.Length of TimeThe resistance training part of your workout should not last longer than one hour. After a warm up, your body is in an anabolic state, meaning that it is ready to "build up" or repair any damage you do to it by running hard or doing other hard work. However, after 45 minutes or so (again, this varies by individual), your body goes into a catabolic state, meaning that your body is ready to "break down" or eliminate anything that may threaten your survival. Entering a catabolic state is good for breaking down body fat and eliminating lactic acid from your muscles, but other tissues are equally damaged by being in a catabolic state. You should be mostly concerned about your kidneys and your muscle fibers that will be compromised if you continue to push yourself. I repeat: working out for more than one hour will hurt your muscles, not help them.The Isotonic WorkoutIsotonics is a fancy word for what traditional bodybuilders do: contract the muscle in order to move a load. In other words, lifting and lowering weights.As for the weight training itself, free weights are excellent because they make your body balance while lifting them. However, many people prefer nautilus machines for exactly the same reason: they feel safer not having to balance the weight. I will not give you weights, sets and reps to do, because there are a myriad of sources of routines written by all sorts of experts. I recommend you experiment with various programs, because although all muscles fundamentally work the same, everyone has different levels of hormones, different metabolism, and different levels of comfort. Pick up the latest fitness magazine of your choice for current work outs.The key to remember when following a routine is this: If you are told to do 10 reps for 3 sets, this means that you should select a weight that allows you to do only 10 in a row, but not 11. You will feel tired at around 6, maybe shake a little at 8, and just pump out the 10th rep with no energy left to do even one more. If you can do 11, then you shouldn't stop just because your routine says 10. Do the 11th and 12th if you can, knowing that you should be using slightly more weight the next time. At the end of each set, rest for about 2 minutes (unless your workout specifies something else) and then do your next set.The Eccentric ContractionMost people who write workout routines emphasize that you lower the weight slower than you raised it. This is partly for safety. But there is a big secret! But before getting to that, let's back-up a little. Concentric motion is flexing the muscle to SHORTEN it under load, and Eccentric motion is flexing the muscle while LENGTHENING it under load. As your arm moves up in a bicep curl, that is concentric, as your arm moves down, eccentric. Here is the secret: Your muscle can create more power in eccentric motions than in concentric ones. So always lower weights very slowly, to keep the maximum tension while lowering weights!But we can take that discovery one step further for ultimate results. Skip the concentric motion because it's holding you back! If you're only working out with weights that you can lift concentrically, you're not using the maximum power possible in your muscles.Warning: the majority of muscle injuries happen during the eccentric phase of motion, and by trying this exercise, you are exposing yourself to risk of injury. So be careful.You absolutely need a spotter for this, because you will need help to raise the weight. Load a bar with a bit more than you can lift. (If you can do 3 curls with 100 lbs, load the bar with 120 lbs.) With the help of your spotter, raise the bar to the top position of a bicep curl. Both of you will likely have to work a bit at this. Then, as slowly as you can, lower the weight to the normal starting position of the curl, with your bicep at full extension. This should take about 3-5 seconds. If your muscle goes slack or you drop the weight, you've put on too much weight. But if you've got the right amount, you should feel a burn like never before. After recovering for 2 minutes, you may want to do a second rep/set... aim for 3 if you can, but if your muscle is still burning and feels weak after two minutes, go on to a different muscle group.And that's it. One rep per set, 1-3 sets. One controlled eccentric rep will stimulate your muscle to grow more than 3 sets of 10 reps because you're using the maximum overload possible.Why? Muscle overload is key to adaptation. When you're using the absolute peak muscular output, it doesn't have to last long. And since the peak is only possible during eccentric contractions, only do eccentric contractions.I feel obliged to repeat the warning: always use a spotter, and only use weights that you can manage. If you are working out for the first time, get used to good form by doing traditional isotonics, and learn how much you can usually lift to determine your baseline. Also, some exercises are more dangerous to do eccentrically because the bar will fall on you if you go slack: bench-press, squats, military press, etc. For those exercises, use a "Smith Machine" where the bar travels on vertical tracks, and you can set safety measures to keep the bar from falling below a certain height.HydrationAlways remember while doing resistance training that water is your best friend. Drinking water will keep you from dehydrating, will keep your energy high, will encourage your body to cycle water and fluids throughout your body, and keep your joints healthy while exercising. The main cause of muscle cramps is insufficient hydration. For more information on the importance of Water, read the article all about it on my site.CautionFor the beginner: start easy. Start at your core and move outwards. Work big muscles before small muscles. Fat burning happens most in the largest muscles (legs and back), so encouraging them to grow will give you the fastest fat-loss results. After your first workout, you will be sore. It would be best to avoid going to your full overload potential the first week, to allow your joints time to adjust to your new activity. However, soon you will see growth, and best of all, you'll see the fat start to melt.The second-best resistance training (after eccentric contractions) does not even require weights, so you can do it at home without a gym membership. Read my article on the Weightless Workout on my site. Exercise The Right Way - The Triceps Pushdown Other articles in this series looked at a number of exercises, mainly from the perspective of developing a comprehensive muscle building program. Sometimes we take things for granted, especially when it comes to performing the basic exercises that constitute the core of most bodybuilders' training regimes.
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |