Tuesday, January 17, 2012

How to Keep Getting Results From Your Weight Lifting Program


If you have been lifting weights for any length of time then you know after about 3 to 6 months the results and gains will end. If you are new to weight lifting you have probably experienced this and don't know what went wrong.

When you begin a weight lifting routine you will notice maximum results in the first three months. However, your results will begin to stop within three to six months. The reason this happens is because your body and muscles get used to the routine and stop responding to the exercise. So if you notice that you are not getting the results like before it's not because you are doing something wrong.

The best way to combat this is to switch up your routine and do different exercises on different days. For example 1 week do short bursts of low repetition heavy weight lifting. For a low repetition heavy weight routine you want to make sure you are lifting 80% of your 1 rep max. The following week you might want to concentrate on mixing up your routine. Isolating one muscle group in a workout session then on the next session isolating another muscle group. You may also want or need to increase the weight you are lifting. The idea is to not let your body or muscles get used to one exercise routine. You have to constantly shock your muscles into growth.

You also might want to consider adding to your caloric intake. Preferably your protein intake. Proteins are the building blocks for muscle gain. I don't advise upping your calories drastically. Start small 5,10 15 or 20 until your body gets used to consuming the extra calories. Watch your carbohydrate, fat and sugar intake and be sure to include some cardio exercises into your routine.

If you do all that is advised in this article you should once again begin to see results in your muscle mass and gain.

To your health,

D




I hope this article helped you or cleared up some confusion you may have had. If you found this article helpful then check out http:http://www.free-weight-exercises.com for more in depth information on exercise and nutrition.

P.S. Remember to make your health a priority in your every day life. Your family will thank you.
Feel free to reuse this article provided you use the link as well.

Danze Yanos
http://www.free-weight-exercises.com




Monday, January 16, 2012

How to Create Successful Weight Lifting Routines With Workout Magazines


Have you ever implemented weight lifting programs or other advice from a popular bodybuilding magazine only to become disappointed? Every monthly issue claims to offer the most effective methods for building muscle fast, yet readers are often mislead to fail. Typical magazine content includes workout routines, tips on proper exercise form and selection, supplement recommendations, and other resources. Although some of this information represents true wisdom, the remainder is merely a collection of recipes for frustration, exhaustion, and injury. Workout magazines may be used as valuable training resources through application of three guidelines to separate fact from fiction.

Many weight lifting routines in workout magazines are composed of excellent exercise selection and structure, yet often lead to exhaustion. This is due to the overwhelming combination of high training volume (excessive number of sets per workout) performed at maximum intensity (each set taken to muscular failure). Muscle fibers can typically withstand only 30-45 minutes of extreme microscopic tearing and energy store depletion (adenosine triphosphate and glycogen) that occurs from intense weight lifting. Furthermore, full intensity is rarely applied toward every set because the lifter realizes energy must be conserved to actually complete the lengthy workout. This is not this case with weight lifting programs of lower volume. Training volume and intensity are two inversely related variables that must be properly balanced for muscular development. The result of pushing both to extreme limits is often over training, a destructive state that impairs and eventually halts all progress. When considering a bodybuilding magazine routine, training volume must be reduced to avoid exhaustion. To accomplish this, a useful rule of thumb is 6-8 intense sets for large muscle groups and 2-4 sets for small groups.

Workout magazines also contain weight training articles with useful tips on proper exercise form. Many articles include photos of professional bodybuilders performing lifts while demonstrating little regard for safety. To begin with, the insane amount of weight lifted rarely represents the actual poundage used in workouts but rather that of a single assisted repetition. Next, the risk of injury is increased due to using a grip with thumbs wrapped behind the bar instead of around it. Finally, this grip is often accompanied by lack of safety collars. These factors can potentially mislead beginners to adopt dangerous lifting habits. To effectively apply information from these articles, focus only the written content and view associated photos with suspicion.

Advertisements for the latest bodybuilding supplements, in every magazine, must also be viewed with caution. Almost every advertisement states outrageous product claims and includes potentially fabricated before and after photos, Realize that no legal supplement even compares to steroids in terms of building muscle fast as sometimes stated. In addition, drastic alterations to before and after workout photos can easily be made via lighting manipulation and computer graphic software. But above all, the majority of bodybuilding magazines are owned and published by supplement manufacturing companies. For the most part it is beneficial to completely ignore all supplement advertisements.

Weight lifting programs and other advice from bodybuilding magazines can be effectively implemented by applying the three guidelines above. First of all, over training may be avoided by reducing the training volume of otherwise excellent routines. Secondly, focus only the written content of articles containing tips on proper exercise form while viewing associated photos with suspicion. Finally, advertisements for bodybuilding supplements in any magazine must be ignored. Start taking full advantage of valuable workout information in every monthly issue by learning to separate fact from fiction.

Finally, there are a wide variety of workout magazines available and each one is unique in some way.




For a detailed comparison of many popular titles check out the Workout Magazines section of Chris' weight lifting routines and resources site at get-bigger.com [http://get-bigger.com/].




How Can You Do Weight Lifting Exercises in the Gym?


First, before you start doing any weight lifting exercises, check with your doctor that you are able to. This is valid especially for people over 30 years old. When you start use the machine prepared for you in most gyms, like bench press, biceps, triceps, pull, pecs etc. It is more important with any exercise to do it correctly, than to lift heavy weights. Get somebody to watch and criticize you, to do it right, or ask a trainer to help you.

What are repetitions (reps) and sets?

When doing weight lifting exercises people use certain terms. Each repetition you do is the number of times you do the exercise without resting. Sets are the number of times you do the set of repetition. You need to have some rest between each set. If you do 3 sets of 15 reps, you've done 15 reps 3 times equals 45 repetition. Often trainers recommend if you want to build muscle to do 7 reps of a weight. If you can do 7 reps the weight you're trying to lift is too light, so increase the weight, and reduce the number of reps to 5, until you can do 7 reps again, then repeat.

What exercises can you do?

After doing the machines for a while until you can do reasonable heavy load, start going over to the dumbbells and barbells. The most important exercises are:


Bench press with dumbbells, free barbells or barbells in a Smith machine. Use a bench you can regulate the incline, so you can train with different angles. Also vary the grip from narrow grip to a wide grip.
Dumbell one-arm bent-over row trains your triceps
Barbell seated shoulder press with different grips
Dumbbell upright row
Dumbbell flies on a bench
Barbell or dumbbell curls trains your biceps.
Leg press with barbells or dumbbells

You should also try to do some more legs (squats and hamstring), core (abs and obliques), and upper and lower back exercises.

How many times should I do these exercises?

I would say you can do these above mentioned exercises up to 3 times per week, and then maybe add some core exercises. Remember the most important when building muscle is the resting time, so always take days off.




Jason B. Warren, a sports enthusiast who enjoys to write about different sports and how to do them. He's doing these sports himself.




Sunday, January 15, 2012

Random Tips on Buying, Using and Training With a Weight Lifting Bench


Maybe you're done with treadmills, exercise rowing machines and other training equipments or tools and you want to try lifting weights for your upper body. The most effective and common tool used for that workout is weight lifting bench. This weight training bench is one of the most popular and in-demand exercise machines that are for sale and pretty much available in the market today.

The weight lifting bench resembles normal benches like the ones you see in parks. The only difference is that it was created specifically for workout and training. You can find them in various fitness centers in your area. If you want to set up your own home gym, you should not forget to include this tool. They are really useful in keeping a person in shape.

Nowadays, in order to sport a healthy lifestyle, aside from eating a well-balanced diet and having enough rest or sleep, regular exercise is also needed to become physically fit. These various fitness equipments, including weight lifting benches, will help us achieve those results. The following are some random tips on purchasing and using those weight benches for your training routine:


If you are looking for cheap weight lifting benches, make sure that the quality is good. More often than not, low-priced benches tend to be weak and wonky, sometimes defective. Going for a weight bench that has a slightly higher price but is strong, sturdy and functional is more practical.

Before buying, ask yourself first what kind of results you truly want to get from this workout. Are you aiming to lose or gain weight? Are you looking to improve your stamina and increase your strength? Are you shaping up your muscles? Do you want to enhance your breathing or blood circulation? Different goals require different workouts or routines and also different exercise machines.

There are various types of weight training benches with different features that you can choose from according to what your body needs. Examples of which are flat weight lifting benches, Olympic weight benches, adjustable weight lifting benches and incline benches.

Establish bench routines that are right for you or what suits your body best. You can seek advice from your trusted fitness instructor and other fitness experts. Make sure that you don't overdo yourself when working out to avoid injuries or accidents.

It's highly recommended to have some kind of a rack with your weight bench where you can put your barbell or dumbbell on. Keep in mind to be extra careful in handling these heavy equipments. They may fall on your feet or destroy the floor or anything it crashes on.




Thomas writes about the weight lifting bench at http://www.fitnessequipmenttips.com




Important Things to Consider When Buying a Weight Lifting Bench For Your Training


The quest for a healthy lifestyle has grown dramatically throughout the years. As we enter the digital age, we struggle to keep our bodies fit and our immune system strong. We are being bombarded by everyday factors that slowly weaken our body and eat up all our energy and ability to live long. More and more illnesses and viruses are surfacing. Our unhealthy habits and vices are not helping either. Stress from work, fatigue and lack of exercise and enough rest worsen it all.

That's why you have to get more serious when it comes to dealing and taking care of your health. Start eating nutritious food, fruits, vegetables. As much as possible, avoid those junk, oily, fatty and sugary foods and also those full of preservatives. Make sure you have enough rest or sleep and take time to workout and do some recreational activities.

Regular exercise is important but if you're too busy to engage in sports or go to the gym, you will find it useful to purchase fitness equipments for your training and exercise routines at home. There are various tools that you can have for your home gym like benches (Olympic weight bench, regular weight lifting bench), treadmills, weights (dumbbell, barbell, etc.) and other set of exercise machines that are for sale.

People have their own preferences when it comes to the tools to be used in their home gyms. Treadmills are the favorite machine of some while others are pretty much satisfied with what weight lifting bench has to offer. If you belong to the latter group and are planning to buy the said equipment, you should first take into consideration the following factors before you make your decision:

Price

There are cheap weight lifting benches available in the market today. There's nothing wrong with going after the affordable ones. Just make sure though that the quality is still superior. However, if your budget allows you to buy a slightly expensive bench, you should do so because most of them are very much worth it.

Quality

You wouldn't want to spend your money on a weight bench that's wonky and seem to collapse on itself at anytime, would you? No matter how cheap it is, defective items are not worth even your single penny because you won't be able to use them properly. You can ensure the quality of the product if you can test it out, ask someone who have used the same brand or look into customer reviews online.

Purpose

The whole purpose of your exercise is also a determining factor if weight lifting benches are right for you. What are you aiming for? Are you doing all of this to build muscles? Lose excess pounds? Improve your strength? Knowing what you really want will help you decide better.

Design

Weight lifting benches come in different designs. Think carefully which one do you need the most. Is it a flat weight bench or an adjustable one? Do you need a leg extension for your bench or a curl feature? How about an adjustable rack? These things also play an important part in your decision-making.

Comfort

Some benches have more padding compared to others to cater different levels of comfort by different individuals. Remember that weight lifting benches should not only be functional and effective but should be comfortable to use as well.




For more information about the weight lifting bench and other weight lifting equipment, but sure to check out our website. Not only will you learn more about what equipment to use but also what equipment that can actually hurt your training and hence need to be avoided.