Archive forApril, 2008

Weight Training Do’s and Dont’s

Over the years I have observed thousands of people training in almost every kind of gym. Watching someone work out, it is simple to almost instantly evaluate the level of their experience. Advanced lifters are easy to spot by their intensity and attention to form and focus. Intermediate trainees show signs of progress although they are often found chatting around the squat rack.

In the third and largest group are beginners and usually they are completely lost. They don’t understand the principles of resistance training, don’t have a plan and don’t know how to perform the basic movements. They go haphazardly through the motions, flirt with injury, see minimal improvement and usually drop out.

IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY! The fundamental principles of weight training are simple. Here are the top five that will take you a long way toward becoming lean, strong and fit.

1. FORM AND FUNCTION. You have to understand the movement and the purpose of each exercise. Books or online videos are good learning tools if you pay attention to the details. Forget about the “muscle mags”. The quickest way to get off to a good start is to hire an experienced certified personal trainer who is willing to teach you how to lift. With each exercise, make sure you understand exactly which muscles you are training and learn to feel them work.

2. SLOW DOWN. This is related to form but deserves special attention. Throughout the entire exercise, you must be in complete control of the weight. Most trainees perform the movements too quickly. When you swing a heavy weight out of control you increase the risk of injury, but you also allow inertia to do the work instead of fully challenging the muscle.

TEMPO is important. Because most trainees use a weight that is too heavy, they perform the exercises with rushed and jerky movements. SLOW DOWN. A good norm is to lower the weight to a count of three (3), raise powerfully to a count of one (1) and pause in the contracted position for a one (1) count before lowering again. This can be expressed as a 3.1.1 cadence.

3. COMPOUND EXERCISES. Trash your body building magazines that show champions doing hundreds of bicep curls and focus on exercises that develop full-body strength and conditioning. Additionally, most people are concerned with burning calories and losing weight. This is done by emphasizing basic, compound exercises. These are the ones that work the body’s largest muscle groups in conjunction with one another.

Primary muscles are the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus, back, chest and shoulders. The primary compound exercises are squats, deadlifts, bench presses, rowing and overhead presses. DO NOT waste time doing isolation exercises for biceps, triceps, forearms and the individual small muscles of the shoulder. These are worked adequately as part of the large compound movements.

4. USE THE CORRECT WEIGHT. Beginners use too little weight and then, if they are bold, progress to using weights that are too heavy. The definition of the correct weight is one that challenges you to work VERY HARD on the last repetition of your exercise but allows you to do so in PERFECT FORM. If the weight is too light you will not overload the muscle sufficiently to stimulate growth. If the weight is too heavy you will cheat, swinging and swaying and allowing inertia to do the work for you.

5. EXERCISE PERSISTENCE AND PATIENCE. All good things are earned and take time. PERSISTENCE says that consistency is critical and that you will see real results in about twelve weeks if…. you DON’T SKIP WORKOUTS and if you challenge yourself to work hard during every session.

BE PATIENT and resist trying every red-hot workout you read about. Most of them are nothing more than variations of basic programs. Give your current routine a chance to work. Patience also says that more is not necessarily better. You need at least forty-eight hours rest between weight workouts and when you are stronger you may need seventy-two hours or more to recover. Remember that plenty of rest and a diet of fresh, unprocessed food provides a foundation for all of your hard work.

Resistance training is the fastest way to lose weight, change your body shape, increase strength and improve your health. You can do it if you learn to make a sport out of it (or better yet, a game). Take the time to learn proper technique, apply a high degree of vigor to every workout and see just how good you can get.

And always remember… “Be Strong…. Be Lean”.

Howard McGarity is a “Human Performance Specialist”, Personal Trainer and Fitness Coach who has studied nutrition and exercise science for most of his fifty-six years. He creates online programs for MyVirtualGym as an effective way to help busy people learn the best ways to get permanently lean, strong and healthy. Get the Free e-book, “The Five Fastest Ways to Fitness” at => MyVirtualGym / MyVirtualGym /

Comments

Personal Trainer

At urban recreational facilities, suburbia’s fancy-health clubs, and at local YW/YMCAs, the trend toward working out with the various types of sophisticated muscle-building equipment, performing aerobics or calisthenics and stretching exercises has risen in the last few years.

From these occurrences it appears as if many out-of-shape people recognize the need for regular exercise and sensible eating habits as they gain an acceptance of a pleasingly contoured physique that exudes vitality, strength, coordination and muscularity.

Because of widespread media coverage, a now national preoccupation with being in shape and staying trim has incited additional would-be fitness enthusiasts to join recreational facilities.

However, scores of these new enthusiasts shell out hundreds of dollars for memberships, then immediately start to invent some imaginative but rather unconvincing excuses to avoid ever again setting foot in what more than a handful of them collectively call “sweat producing chambers.”

Their intentions usually are good, and, some, even praiseworthy. (For example, one woman said that she wished to reduce her body’s subcutaneous fat and redistribute her weight so that she would feel healthier and look more attractive in her clothes, while a man said that he wished to increase blood circulation and improve his body’s immunity to germs and infections.) Yet, when left to their own devices, a lot of them do not seem to be able to summon up the willpower required to undergo the muscle trembling agony of vigorous exercise on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, recent studies show that well over half of the people who begin some kind of exercise activity quit it within six months.

They start to abandon their facilities for varied reasons such as: He 1: “I really hate the large crowds and deafening noises;” or, She: “I am just too bashful to exercise with a bunch of strangers around me;” or, He 2: “More often than not, I find that all the machines I need for my workout are in use when I get to the club. Consequently, I have to sit around wasting my valuable time until the machines are available.”

Besides those above, there are other reasons why getting into and staying in shape tends to be a hassle for a host of people who wish to do so. One is that, after a tough eight-hour workday, most employees’ primary desire is to go home and unwind. They have to really push themselves not only to follow through with their earlier plan to work out but also to “fight all that dreadful, rush-hour traffic” to travel “all that way” to their recreational facility, making an already difficult day seem considerably longer and even more exhausting. At this juncture, the work out that should be mentally and physically gratifying, and ultimately relaxing, becomes another inconvenient task for them to perform.

As an alternative to the frenzied gym scene, a fair percentage of turned-off exercisers, as well as those engaged in serious athletic training, seek the services of a professional personal trainer to help them get started, or to keep them from becoming bored with working out by suggesting new routines, or overcoming a sticking point. And many of these exercisers find a personal trainer to be what they needed to assist them in putting an end to those and some of the other multifarious problems they encountered through the physical conditioning process.

For the purpose of clarification, a personal trainer is a qualified, competent, conditioning instructor conversant in such subjects as exercise physiology, kinesiology, behavior modification, health assessment, nutrition, and weight management. These days, many elite trainers across the country have either a college degree or are certified by a nationally recognized accredited organization like the American College of Sports Medicine or the American Council of Exercise (other organizations can be found at noca ).

A personal trainer, after evaluating their clients present physical condition and helping to spell out their goals, works with them to devise and implement exercise and nutrition programs that embody what their clients need to achieve their respective health and fitness objectives. With the trainer as motivator, guide and coach, clients perform a wider variety and a larger number of exercises during their workout sessions than most of them would do on their own. And they are able to do this at a reduced risk of being subjected to musculo-skeletal injuries to their bodies.

These no-nonsense exercises enable clients to develop their bodies faster and with a higher degree of effectiveness than many of them could achieve working out by themselves. Additionally, customized, one-on-one instruction gives clients the opportunity to talk with their personal trainer at each workout session regarding the exercise program.

A committed trainer never forsakes a client. When leaving a client on his or her own, a committed trainer takes the initiative to call to ensure the client is carrying on with the exercise program and to answer any questions the client may have. A committed trainer is also continually on the lookout for safe, innovative ways to help a client get in top physical condition. What’s more, a committed trainer always has high regard for a client and when the occasion warrants mails thank-you, birthday, and anniversary cards.

Currently, personal trainers are one of the most highly sought after groups of exercise specialists in the fitness industry. In the health care arena, their services are used by patients recovering from many types of physical impairments, who with their physician’s permission, exercise to become healthy, strong and ambulatory once again.

However, personal trainers are mostly hired by actors, models, competitive athletes and fast-track corporate executives, whose livelihoods depend on them being fit, functioning at peak ability while on the job and looking youthful. These active, successful people know that individuals who are well-conditioned possess and readily display energy and strength. Plus, they usually have much improved mental capabilities and more creativity as well.

They know, too, that physical fitness in the healthy individual promotes a feeling of being “on top of it all.” Perhaps most important, they are aware of the medical data showing that frequent exercise is one of the best ways to manage the pressures which commonly occur in the life of a hard-working professional.

Furthermore, today’s high-powered men and women at the top, and those moving in that direction, operate under stringent deadlines. With daily calendars full of appointments, their days are hectic, tedious and long. They have precious few, if any, spare minutes. While on the job, every second represents substantial dollars to them and their companies. Therefore, they are very conscious of the ever-ticking clock and find it almost impossible to set aside time for anything other than work.

For this reason, the majority of clients prefer having a trainer who is able to meet with them at a prearranged, mutually convenient time and location. The time could be before the client starts work, at noontime, or at the close of the workday. The location could be privately in the client’s home, the client’s place of business, a recreational facility, or some other place that offers convenience, provides security, and anything else the client and trainer desire to facilitate them in having not only an excellent workout session but also allowing them to arrive and leave in comfort and safety.

But adding the services of a personal trainer to one’s life is not cheap. Actually, it’s quite expensive. Personal trainers charge clients from $25 to $100 an hour. Although, on average, a workout session costs $30 to $35.

So along with finding a trainer who complements your personality, you had better be sure that you are devoted to working out and attaining your preconceived fitness goals when you retain a trainer. Try hard to make your body-conditioning experience one that ends up with you getting positive results by not letting yourself become a fitness dropout. In the final analysis, the benefits you reap from your workouts will only be commensurate with the time and effort you put into them. Visit web site hometown.aol /buffalofox/joggingandrunning.html hometown.aol /buffalofox/joggingandrunning.html .

La Rue Briggs

Comments

What You, Worry?

I am always amused what people are worried about nowadays.

How they look in a mirror, their clothes, their “style”, what type of car they drive, how they have the right bracelet, to match the right earrings, to go with the stylish ankle bracelet, down to the matching toe ring.

I’m serious here…….

Or better yet, they’re worried about how many video games they are going to play today, how many movies they are going to rent, and how many bags of candy they can polish off in one sitting.

Too bad there is not enough focus on the many teen fitness concerns out there.

Ok, maybe I’m focusing a little too much on you “kids” here (lol)…….

Unless, you parents are doing this too (lol).

Don’t worry kids…..many parents need to go to a adult fitness camp too………

Worried to beat traffic, worry to get to work early, worry to finish everything at work so fast so you can get home quickly to drive your kids to softball, baseball, music, dance practices, then run home, shove down a greasy hamburger, fries, and your favorite carbonated beverage, then watch some TV, get heartburn, and go to bed.

Sounds like a great life, huh?

Sign me up!……..just kidding, of course.

Unfortunately, what I have just written (or very close to it) is all too knowing for many people/families in this world.

It’s sad really.

It’s sad (to me at least) to see that people put SO MUCH IMPORTANCE on stuff like this and almost zero importance on their health and well-being.

I’m about to give you a big secret……

A secret that almost nobody (again, unfortunately) follows……

You ready???

Are you sure??? (lol), OK…….

*****Don’t wait until it’s too late to “worry” about your health.*****

Profound, isn’t it?

But so true.

So many people nowadays with all the hustle and bustle that goes along with everyday life: work, family, kids, stress, after-school activities, laundry, home repairs, mowing your yard, weeding flowerbeds, washing floors, doing dishes…….how do you have time for your health?????

Answer: You make time for it.

So many things we do are of little importance, but yet we “worry” about them so much. Then, when one of our loved ones falls ill, or develops a disease, virus, etc., we all ask “what went wrong?” Invariably, it is everything that I have talked about in this article (at least to an extent).

So, what can YOU do?

Well, for starters, why don’t you “worry” (not being paranoid, mind you……more like being aware of the situation) about your health and fitness.

Instead of worrying if your new shirt matches all 35 pairs of your pants…….why don’t you “worry” how you can make tonight’s dinner 50% healthier for you and your family.

Or “worry” how you can eat a more nutritious breakfast every morning (preferably not donuts and Pop-Tarts, washed down with a nice, tall sugar-laced beverage).

You see, making small changes like the ones I am suggesting do SO MUCH for your overall health and fitness, it’s not even funny.

I hate to start throwing out clichés, but as they say……

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”

Unfortunately, for some of you it should be “An ounce of prevention is worth 20 pounds of cure”.

Or maybe 40 pounds.

Heck, it might be 100 pounds.

The amount really doesn’t matter.

What does matter is that you better get off your tail and hold yourself accountable for your health.

YOU can make better decisions.

YOU can make time for fitness (also, let’s get off our butts, and help put a stop to all these teen fitness concerns).

YOU can lead your family by example.

Don’t wait until you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, clogged arteries…..etc.

Why put yourself through all that pain and expense (time and money)???

Why don’t you look ahead (and I’m not talking about to tonight’s dinner), and gauge where you want to be at in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years.

Hint: your goal should be to be in the best shape you can possibly be in, at all times.

Let me be the first (or next) to tell you that you can do it…….I believe in you!

Everyone can make a positive change, but ultimately, it is up to YOU to get started…….

So, get started NOW……..and like I always say……..I am here to help. Please write me at mailto:chris@fitnesswithchris ” class=”hft-email chris@fitnesswithchris and visit my website fitnesswithchris and let me show you how to “worry” about your fitness. Talk to you soon.

Chris C.

Chris Callegari, founder of fitnesswithchris fitnesswithchris is unleashing his real-world exercise, fitness, nutrition, and healthy eating tips to the world, to help support lifestyle changes for any and everyone.

Comments

Who Else Wants MapQuest Directions To success?

Do you want to be different, more appreciated, more valued? Would you like your life to be more exciting and fun? Would you like to enjoy more material and financial success? Do you ever wish you were in better shape? If so, here’s how you can get from where you are now to where you really want to be…

All you need are some MapQuest like directions to success. Let’s get started…

Okay, take a minute to think about where your life is today. What’s missing? What’s missing from your career, your relationships, your health and fitness, and your financial situation? Here, let’s make it easier, just print out this article and fill in the blanks…

What’s missing from your career? Why?

What’s missing from your relationships? Why?

What’s missing in your health and fitness? Why?

What’s missing in your material and financial situation? Why?

Now that you know what’s missing from your life and why it’s missing, let’s take a minute to imagine the life you really wish you had. Just take a minute to relax and start daydreaming.

Imagine what the ideal career for you would be like. What kind of things would you be doing? What are you good at? What do you enjoy? How fun would it be? Write it down.

Imagine the ideal relationship you could be in. What kind of person would you be with? What would you enjoy doing together? What do you have to offer this other person? Write it down.

Imagine your ideal state of health and fitness. What kind of a diet can you live with that would make you feel better? What kind of exercise routine could you learn to enjoy? How much better would you feel if you were leaner and more muscular? How much more enjoyable would your life be if you were healthier and more fit? Write it down.

Imagine the ideal financial state for you. What would you do with greater financial wealth? What would you do with your time? How would it feel to be debt-free? How would it feel to have greater resources to enjoy and to serve others with? Write it down.

Okay you’re almost there. You know your starting point. That is you know what’s missing from your life and why. You also know where you really want to be! Now, here’s how to get your MapQuest like directions to take you from where you are to where you want to be…

1. From this day forward here’s what you are going to do. Every night before you fall asleep and every morning before you rise, ask yourself over and over again, “how can I get from where I am now to where I want to be?” You’ll be suprised what kind of solutions start poping into your mind.

2. Next, right down on a piece of paper the following words “career”, “relationship”, “health”, “money”. On a scale of 1 to 10, rank each one of these words in order of their importance to you right now. 1 being the least important and 10 being most important. Whichever one ranks highest, this will be your first area to focus on.

3. Write down the word that ranked highest for you, write it down at the top of a piece of paper. On the same piece of paper write down your current state in regards to this area of your life. Now, on a separate piece of paper right down your ideal state for this area of your life. Be sure to take time to really imagine being in that ideal state and experience what it would feel like. Write it all down. What you want and why you want it!

Now it’s time to get your MapQuest like directions.

4. Take a look at everything you’ve written down and start making a list of everything you need to do to get from where you are now to where you truly want to be. Every super successful person knows this exact process. As a matter of fact only about 5%, that is the top 5% of all people take the time to examine themselves, to set goals, and to make a plan that will take them to where they want to be. Then they simply follow their own directions.

Unfortunately, most people will spend more time deciding what to eat from the menu at a drive-through then they will trying to attain what they want in life.

Fortunately for you, you want to be different. And now you know how!

Follow these simple steps to get anything you want and you’ll have a virtual MapQuest set of directions that will help you succeed in any area of life you choose!

Here’s to your success! Happy travels!

Copyright 2006 CareerSuccessTraining

Mark Edward Duin is the Founder of careersuccesstraining careersuccesstraining

Comments

Is Smoking Adversely Affecting Your Skin?

While it is well known that smoking is generally harmful to your overall health, some people still consider the habit cool or sexy. This is certainly the image cigarette companies project to their target customers. But could smokers actually be making themselves look less attractive and desirable? Today let’s look at how smoking affects the attractiveness of your largest organ-the skin.

You build the cable of a habit one thread at a time. Every day you make choices that lead to habits. It can be hard to break the cycle of those choices. What starts as a pastime stays on to take its toll on your health.

Can you justify smoking?

Smokers justify their habit with the following reasons:

* Smoking gives them pleasure
* Smoking relieves their depression and makes them feel lighter
* People in their social circle smoke

Most people began as occasional, light smokers. They may have failed to realize that one day, they would become dependant on this “occasional” habit.

The situation is beginning to change. People have begun to think twice before lighting up. This awareness certainly comes from the proven health hazards of smoking.

How smoking affects your skin

You need to be aware of the affects of smoking on your skin and overall looks. This is what smoking does to your skin.

The beauty and youthful look of your skin is largely determined by adequate moisture and oxygen content. Smoking denies an adequate supply of oxygen to your skin and dehydrates it.

* While you are enjoying puffs from your cigarette, you are inviting trouble into your system. Your lungs are the first victims. In just one puff, more than a trillion free radicals are created in your lungs. These free radicals, in turn, induce an inflammatory reaction that gets circulated throughout the whole body.

* Smoking causes the same appearance in your skin as sun damage. The nicotine present in cigarettes is the cause of this effect. It makes you look much older than you are.

* Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 toxins that enter your bloodstream directly and effect your skin’s appearance. The top layers of the skin constrict; this reduces your blood’s oxygen content and substitutes it with carbon monoxide. With less oxygen in the blood, toxins and other wastes remain in your system, aging it prematurely. Generally, smoking causes your skin to look pale and grey. In addition, the collagen level of your skin is greatly reduced when you smoke, making your skin more wrinkled and less youthful looking.

* Smoking causes heavy damages to a woman’s system by creating an imbalance in her hormone levels and dramatically altering her body shape. This is caused by a disturbance in the endocrinal glands. A research report says that if a woman smokes a pack per day for 40 years, it can accelerate her aging by 7.4 years.

To emphasize the ill effects of smoking on your skin, the term “smoker’s face” was added to the medical dictionary. This condition is caused when the skin in your face shows the lines and wrinkles-which make you look older-all due to smoking! The smoker’s features are thin and gaunt. There are clear signs of premature aging, induced by poor blood circulation. Evidences show that a smoker’s skin is more than 40% thinner than a non-smoker.

When you smoke, you are introducing stimulants into your system that affect your blood vessels.

It has also been suggested that smoking causes certain types of skin cancer. Further research is being undertaken to study the cosmetic effects that smoking has on your skin. For example, smoking dries your skin, especially in the areas affected by the nicotine smoke. Nicotine is also a diuretic and can reduce vitamin A in your body.

If you smoke, I hope I have given you food for thought. By all means, try to stop. Smoking not only ages you through general health deterioration but probably makes you look less attractive. Your family and loved ones need you. So, I caution you to stop right now.

Once you begin to seek treatment to stop, there are also skin solutions that can help you get back to a more vibrant and beautiful you. There is a product we hear that can help you restore your skin to a more youthful glow.

To take extra good care of your skin suffering from the sun-like damage associated with smoking consider using a topical cream like Lumnaderm(tm). This product can offer significant help to those concerned about the appearance of skin which may have been damaged by the sun, free radicals, or other skin problems. Lumnaderm(tm) is available from fine online stores like Amazon and the BODeStore ( bodestore bodestore ).

Written by the V-Team, courtesy of Kamau Austin, publisher. The V-Team writes articles for the health and fitness enthusiast. Their timeless health and fitness tips are at the Fit After Forty Blog. See more useful news and tips about skin careat healthandfitnessvitality /blogs/fitnessblog.htm healthandfitnessvitality /blogs/fitnessblog.htm .

Comments