Nobody skips arm day. Let’s face it. If you can only train in the gym once per week, there’s a good chance biceps and triceps will be receiving a little bit of love right? It would be impossible to leave them off the menu. But what about lower back? Neck? Calves? What about the muscle groups that don’t fall into standard body part splits, which should be targeted more effectively in order to see truly overall balanced body development.
Monthly Archives: January 2012
Jan31
2012
2012
Jan31
2012
2012
We gotta drink. The planet is made of water. Our bodies are made of water. Our muscles are made up of water. We need to stay hydrated for our brains, bodies and muscles to function optimally. But what should we be drinking each day? Let’s examine a few common options!
Jan31
2012
2012
We’ve all fallen victim at least once (or a couple dozen times) to alluring fitness magazine covers promising radical changes to our physiques in a very short time. We see fit models on the cover, and believe we can also achieve those abs and such tight legs in just 6 weeks using their diet or training program. So we buy the periodical, we give the routine a shot, and nothing really changes. Let’s examine a few of the truths that fitness magazines will never tell you.
Jan31
2012
2012
Life throws plenty of curveballs in our direction. All we can do is choke up on that bat and hit them out of the park when they arrive, right? Let’s look at ways that we can use the many benefits of exercise and proper diet for dealing with the roadblocks that will inevitable be in the road before us.
Jan30
2012
2012
As you may have noticed, more and more commercial gyms are opening which include a training swimming pool as part of their offering. Sure, splashing around in the pool is fun, but are there really any benefits in terms of building muscle and burning fat to be gained? You might just be surprised! Let’s look at a few ways you can use a swimming pool to burn fat, build muscle, get stronger, and feel better.
Jan29
2012
2012
You’d never enter a race if you didn’t know the finish line. You’d never get in your car and just drive with no destination (especially with these gas prices!) Very rarely in this very crowded and crazy life do you engage in any activity without a reason for doing so. This applies in the gym as well. It makes no sense to train when you don’t have a goal. You can never dedicate proper training intensity and detail to diet without a clear vision of what you’d like your body to do or become as a result of your training and diet.
Jan29
2012
2012
We have many measurement tools to evaluate how we are doing in the gym. We like the mirror, of course, and there is no shortage of self-taken cell phone mirror pictures floating around out there as proof of this. Tape measures are good ways to estimate what areas of the body are getting smaller, and which are becoming larger. The scale can be a consistent yet vague estimator of progress. With muscle weighing over 5 times more than fat, a single pound of muscle gained will be much greater volume in terms of fat loss, which can be very confusing. No doubt, your gym staff possesses its own list of body fat calipers and other devices used to measure lean body mass, body fat percentage, and other evaluator of progress.
Jan28
2012
2012
Supplements rock. Let’s face it. They can take an average lifter and change him or her in ways unheard of. There are many classes of supplements which can make this difference. You can use them for more energy and to get leaner, if that is your goal. If adding muscle is ideal, then you can add water retention and greater strength, leading to greater muscle, from tools like creatine. For health, supplements are available which can give you greater organ and brain health, joint recovery, and a wealth of other options. If you have something that ails you, there is a good chance a supplement exists to help you with that. This goes for young, medium, and old alike. Supplements can help you to look, feel, and perform better than you ever have before.
Jan27
2012
2012
Q: I’ve always hard a thick and well developed chest. I’ve also always used heavy dumbbell and barbell presses (incline and flat), for about 20 years now. I suffered rotator cuff damage a year ago, and while it was relatively minimal, it has totally stopped me from going heavy on the chest movements. I’ve tried making it up with volume, but nothing is working. My once great chest is now becoming average. What can I do to prevent this from happening? Thanks!
Jan27
2012
2012
You toss two identical twins in a gym. You tell them they have a year to build their triceps. Cutting the gym in half, you let Twin #1 use any machine in the place – cables, nautilus, hammer strength, etc. He pumps and pumps and pumps until his arms are completely engorged with blood. Then you take Twin #2, and lock him on the free weight side of the gym. He can’t use any of the expensive sophisticated machines. Relegated to only dumbbells, barbells, and EZ curl bar, he is expected to try and keep up with his technology-assisted friend.