Saturday, October 12, 2013

How Technology Reshaped My Fitness

Welcome to My DoFollow Blog! As a Big Thank You, I'd Like to Give You FREE Access to my "19 Tips to Build Muscle & Gain Weight" Report That Gives You The Key Ingredients For Success in YOUR all your workouts! ~ Marc David; CPT


This is a guest post by Joe Pawlikowski, a fitness obsessed blogger


When you’ve been hitting the gym for 10 years but still have a beer gut, you start to ask yourself questions. Where did I go wrong? What is the guy with the six pack doing that I’m not? What can I do differently? When I started asking myself these questions, I had no answers. That’s because I had no data. In fact, I used to laugh at the guys who brought notebooks to the gym. “Just lift,” was my mantra. Fat lot of good it did me.

There was no sense in continuing to pay for a monthly gym membership if I couldn’t at least answer why I still had a beer gut after 10 years of exercise. It was then that I decided to start keeping track of what I did in the gym. Since I run a number of technology-focused blogs, I thought that bringing tech into the equation could work to my benefit. And boy did it.

Two years later I’ve eliminated plenty of fat. I weigh 30 pounds less than I did before, but that doesn’t quite tell the whole story. The journey from beer gut near-six-pack (still haven’t gotten the last leg done) included plenty of muscle gain to go along with fat loss. And it’s all because I started to employ technology in my everyday workouts. Here are the two main devices I use, and how I use them.

The number of smartphone users in the US is growing by the day. At last check more than 40 percent of cell phone users were operating smartphones. All major smartphone platforms — mainly Android and iPhone — have huge marketplaces filled with useful apps. And boy let me tell you, there are hundreds upon thousands of fitness apps. Why not take advantage of them?

Timers. When my gym technology was limited to the discman I shoved in my pocket, I never really knew how much time I took between sets. I’d just amble around for a bit before getting under the bar again. It’s easier to measure progress, though, when you keep consistent rest times. Using a timer on my smartphone means I can ensure that I’m not seeing gains just because I’m taking extra long rest times. Additionally, I can keep times for HIIT routines with interval timers.

Pedometers. While you make deliberate gains in the gym, you can also work towards your fitness goals at any time. Walking more, for instance, can help you remain active throughout the day. I accomplished this with a simple pedometer app. It let me know how many steps I took in a given day, so I could try to beat that the next day. You wont’ melt your way to six pack just by walking, but it can supplement a more rigorous fitness routine.

Run keeper. I won’t do cardio these days without keeping tabs on my time, pace, and distance. Free apps such as Map My Run record your stats and help you track your progress. WIth that data in hand I can make better decisions about my cardio workouts — including when to take a break.

Music. If I’m using my smartphone for working out, I might as well pump some tunes through it. The great thing is that smartphones don’t have any moving parts in them, so you can take them on any kind of cardio or weight lifting workout. (It’s recommended that you don’t run with a traditional iPod, because the hard drive has moving parts and can more easily break.) I like unlimited music apps like Spotify, because I don’t have to think about adding music before I get to the gym. I can just load up one of my pre-made playlists.

Originally I tried to track my progress on my smartphone. Might as well get the most use out of a single device, right? Unfortunately, this proved prohibitive. While there are a number of smartphone apps that will help you keep your workout data, I just found the small screen to be a bit prohibitive. That’s where another of my favorite technological devices comes into play: the tablet PC.

I have Lenovo’s Thinkpad, an Android powered tablet. Yet when it comes to the functions I’m using it for in my fitness routine, it’s the same as an iPad or any other tablet. In fact, you can find a free spreadsheet application for basically any smartphone platform. Google Docs does the job just fine, and it’s especially sweet on my Thinkpad. And, since the screen is 10 inches, it’s easy to record as much data as I need.
Not only can I record the data, but I can also analyze it. It’s easy to create charts and graphs out of whatever data I input: weight, measurements, body fat percentage, sets, reps, weight, etc. Converted into visual form, the data can show me trends in my workout that I never noticed before. It really helps answer the question, “what am I doing wrong?”

Of course, you need to take a few precautions when bringing a tablet into a gym. You can’t go placing it on the ground like a notebook, lest someone steps on it or worse, a weight gets dropped on it. But if you’re careful you can make it work and record the workouts as they happen.

Using both a tablet and a smartphone, I can collect any and all data about my workouts. I know how far and how fast I ran. I know how much weight I lifted, for how many sets, and how much time I took between those sets. I know how much weight and fat I’ve list in any given period. Best of all, I can see all that data visually, which gives me a better idea of what’s working and what’s not.

If something isn’t working, I don’t need to move far to find solutions. A tablet is built for web browsing, and so I can visit fitness sites that I trust to figure out how to change things up. And then I can write down those changes and implement them right into my next workout. Sure, I still have to get under the bar and do the work, but technology takes a lot of the hassle out of everything else.

Joe Pawlikowski is a fitness obsessed blogger who runs multiple technology focused websites. He keeps a personal blog at JoePawl.com
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Friday, October 11, 2013

How to Build Impressive Biceps

Welcome to My DoFollow Blog! As a Big Thank You, I'd Like to Give You FREE Access to my "19 Tips to Build Muscle & Gain Weight" Report That Gives You The Key Ingredients For Success in YOUR all your workouts! ~ Marc David; CPT


Who doesn’t want strong and shapely biceps?

If I was a gambling man, I would bet you probably see a lot of people working arms (biceps) probably for an hour maybe more doing all types of isolation exercises.

 I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to expend that much time in the gym to have a great looking set of bicep muscles. There’s a few key points that you need to know when it comes to building biceps.

First you need to work the biceps from all angles using a variety of key exercise. Next you want to focus on compound movements. Another key point is to keep your workout short and focused. Finally there are four big bang biceps exercises that you can do though ensure maximum bicep growth.

There will always be debate about the best bicep workout routine, but there’s not as much debate about the best bicep exercises you should incorporate for maximum growth.

Bicep Development Begins with the All Angles Approach

The biceps muscle is made of two heads. You might refer to this as an inner and an outer bicep.  Anatomy books will refer to these two as the biceps brachii the long and short head.  You’ll want to choose exercises that work both bicep heads thru a complete range of motion.  If you spend too much time working one area of the bicep you can temporarily change the look of it or develop a weakness when using a different range of motion. By selecting a few key exercises, you can ensure you are getting the best bicep development possible.

Compound Movements or Isolation Exercises?
Why is that even a question?
 Focusing on compound movements ideal for most situations involving optimal muscle growth. If possible use free weights like barbells and dumbbells as machines will not provide the same overall stimulus and growth potential. One thing to keep in mind is keep your arm workouts short and focused. Many people will tell you there’s a specific number of reps or a specific number of sets and a time to complete a workout.  As a guideline for most generic programs, this is true, but for the purposes of this article I want you to focus on doing the exercises as intensely as possible without interruption and paying attention to the time. If that takes 15 minutes or if it takes 45 minutes it doesn’t matter as long as you are giving it your all. Once you feel yourself starting to slip and not give his much effort that’s when you stop.  Maybe people could get in much better workouts if they had a stopwatch beep at them when the specified rest interval was over.

The Four Big Bang Bicep Exercises
Barbell curlHammer curlReverse barbell curlClose grip pull ups
I am well aware there are many other awesome bicep exercises to pick such as spider curls (Tom Venuto introduced this one to me in one of his many insane bicep blasting routines)

 Even if you don’t have access to a gym or any type of equipment, you probably can find a place to do close grip pull ups which are an excellent solution for a biceps workout without weights!

 However, building biceps are not as difficult as people may believe. It’s simply a matter of working the biceps from all angles, focusing on compound movements with limited use of isolation exercises, and using some or all of the exercises described here for maximum growth.

 Feel free to add or subtract exercises depending on your situation but try to use as many as possible from the list for complete and great bicep development.  You can even split up the exercises on different days based on your routine (barbell curls and reverse barbell curls one workout session and hammer curls and close grip pull ups on another).

Too many people spend too much time in the gym focusing on exercises that don’t get them the results they want. Understanding that the bicep is just a muscle like anything else in focusing on it with short intense workouts, you can develop the arm size or the arm strength about that you desire.

There are routines, such as the Unvarnished Arm Routine by Boyer Coe or Larry Scott’s bicep workout coined the best bicep workout, that employee some of these techniques along with advanced concepts (very slow close grip pull-ups with heavy barbell bicep curls).

 You’ll find your arms will grow to the size you never thought possible. However even in those professional bodybuilding routines they still focus on using certain exercises, working the bicep from all angles, focusing on compound movements that use as much of the bicep muscle as possible with limited isolation exercises in the shortest amount of time possible.

 With this knowledge you should have no problem going to the gym and spending 15 minutes dedicated to biceps that will ensure ultimate bicep growth.
Here’s to you building bigger, stronger, biceps!

Marc David – CPT“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
Author of NoBull Bodybuilding

PS – Check these biceps tendonitis tips if you start to feel any pain or discomfort beyond normal muscular soreness.

View the original article here

Thursday, October 10, 2013

How to Pig Out This Holiday (and get leaner!)

Welcome to My DoFollow Blog! As a Big Thank You, I'd Like to Give You FREE Access to my "19 Tips to Build Muscle & Gain Weight" Report That Gives You The Key Ingredients For Success in YOUR all your workouts! ~ Marc David; CPT


Thanks to my buddy “Keifer” the author of Carb Backloading (whom I’ve never actually spoken to in any capacity) he put out this video explaining how to time your day as to enjoy Thanksgiving.  Think of this as a carb backloading holiday schedule.

However, you could use this concept to plan any type of event where the food portions might be out of control.  It’s simple to follow.  I’ll let him explain the concept and if you have questions, feel free to post them in the comment box below.

How to Use a Holiday to Get Lean
Does this tip work?  Yes it does.  And I know this because I tested it out for a full 10 days and on the 11th day when I ate 409g of carbs in about 2 hours, I woke up leaner than before.

Marc David – CPT“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
Author of NoBull Bodybuilding

PS – Here’s my take on the concept of carb backloading

PPS – Here’s the initial carb backloading meal plan I designed and have since tweaked

View the original article here

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Contest-Berichterstattung über die 2013 Arnold Classic Europe

 

Mit dem Mr. Olympia Wettbewerb jetzt in der Vergangenheit blicken wir auf die Zukunft. Der Zukunft zwei Wochen nach der Olympia und es ist in Form des dritten jährlichen Arnold Classic Europa. Dieser Wettbewerb wird schnell eine der Elite Wettbewerbe des Jahres Dank natürlich es wird Bestandteil der Arnold Classic für Wettbewerbe. Um nicht zu vergessen, die Show in unmittelbarer Nähe der Olympia ist, sind so viele der Top Olympia-Konkurrenten bereit, Aufenthalt in bester Verfassung für ein paar Wochen für eine Chance auf eine prestigeträchtige Trophäe verdienen ihre Vitrine hinzu.


Die 2013 Formatvariante der Arnold Classic Europe wird zum wettbewerbsfähigsten bis heute sein, als es kennzeichnet die Top vier aus der Olympia, Phil Heath, Kai Greene, Dennis Wolf und Shawn Rhoden. Es verfügt auch über viele andere Olympia-Bestplatzierten und mehrere europäische Top-Bodybuilder.


Aber Männer Bodybuilding ist nicht nur pro Wettbewerb auf der diesjährigen Arnold Classic Europe vorgestellten. Einige der Top women's Fitness Wettbewerber kämpfen um ein Arnold Classic Titel hinzu, ihre eigenen Mantlecases. Titelverteidiger Oksana Grishina werden um ihren Titel auf der Linie gegen Tanji Johnson und Myriam Capes zurückkehren.


Contest-Berichterstattung über das 2013 Arnold Classic Europa finden Sie auf dieser Seite. Die Pre-Contest-Abdeckung, bestehend aus einer Vorschau und Prognosen der men's Bodybuilding und Fitness women's ist jetzt über die folgenden Links zur Verfügung.


Nach Abschluss der Wettbewerbe finden Sie nach dem Wettbewerb-Abdeckung, darunter die vollständigen Ergebnisse und eine komplette Zusammenfassung, die hier unten gebucht werden.

2013 Arnold Classic Europa: Ergebnisse und Recap (werden am Sonntag, 13)

Willst du den Spaß mitmachen? Buchen Sie Ihre Vorhersagen unten entweder die Männer Bodybuilding, Fitness Frauen oder beiden Wettbewerben. Achten Sie darauf, um Gründe für jede Platzierung, die Sie Vorhersagen.


View the original article here