Posts Tagged ‘strength’

How To Go From A Keg Belly To A Six Pack

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Everyone wants to know if aerobics is better than strength training or cardio better than intervals. The main question is “What is the best way to lose my belly fat?”

I have to say, I’ve tried them all!

With over 15 years experience helping others, training myself, training for sports, spending countless hours in the gym, AND actually conducting laboratory research studies on different exercise methods, I’m pretty confident in knowing what works and what does not.

Time. Do you have it? For those of you who can’t spend 90 minutes per day exercising I want to talk to you.

That’s why there is a huge disconnect between some of the information found in magazines and the ability of the reader to apply it to their lives.

For someone who is not a triathlete and just wants to tone and lose weight you don’t need to work out 6-8 hours/week.

Therefore to get a better body, you need…

Use bodyweight exercises to warm-up, strength training supersets to build muscle, and then finish your workout with interval training to burn fat in a short amount of time. I’ve structured my system so that you are in and out of the gym in 45 minutes, three times per week.

You’ll do 5 minutes of bodyweight exercises to warm-up. This is a much more efficient approach than spending 5 minutes walking on a treadmill, which really doesn’t prepare you for anything except more walking on a treadmill.

Next are strength training supersets. What is this? Use two exercises, with minimal rest between each, back to back. This will give us top results and cut workout time. Take about 20 minutes for this step. Depending on your goal you should use basic exercises and if you would like add more bodyweight exercises.

Last but not least, interval training for 18 minutes. It is important to warm up. Next do six short intervals at your skill level while using short periods of low intensity recovery.

That will be a much more effective workout than running, cycling, or a cardio machine for 45 min straight. Sure they all burn calories but they don’t build a better body.

In fact, long slow cardio has a downside. We already know results are different. But overusing muscle groups leads to injuries and it is an inefficient form of exercise. When are you going to build your muscles and sculpt that beautiful body if you are on a cardio machine for 30-45 min straight?

The best way to burn belly fat is fast and fun and it works using a combination of strength training and interval training

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. To learn more please visit Craig Ballantyne’s Website here.

Understand The Potential Negative Side Effects Of Creatine And Glutamine In The Metabolism

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

Most of us would love to have better looking bodies and more strength. The solution is often body building supplements. These will boost performance in a short time. It is no surprise that supplements are used by sportspeople to enhance their stamina and increase their energy. If you are also going to try these supplements then it may be useful to understand the potential negative side effects of creatine and glutamine as these are contained as ingredients in many fitness enhancing products.

Today one of the most widely used fitness supplements is creatine. This is known to have an effect of increasing body mass and muscle size. Another useful property is that it can often shorten the time needed to recover from a workout. As with any supplement there will be side effects.

It can cause the muscles to retain water which can lead to dehydration. The mass the body puts on will not just be muscle, you will feel a lot bulkier even after a week. Other negative consequences may include diarrhoea, bloating, and gas.

If you are a regular visitor to a gym you may have heard about glutamine. This is an amino acid; it occurs in your muscles naturally and also helps to maintain the body’s immune system. People who enjoy intense and frequent workouts may have found use for glutamine. If you lead a busy life you may not have time to consume the correct diet. Glutamine can help to keep your body healthy and increase your stamina.

One consequence of working out while taking glutamine is dehydration. You need to ensure that you replace any water that you lose.

Body building supplements are best used over the short term. As with any medication prolonged use can lead to dependency and harm.

There are a load of people out there looking for the potential glutamine side effects and creatine monohydrate side effects, but you will find that there are folks who use these daily.

Discover How to Get Big Pecs

Friday, September 11th, 2009

If you picture some of the manliness figures in history or from the movies, what was their defining feature? There’s nothing better than a set of well-developed pecs to really make a man stand out. Big pectorals make a guy look impressive, imposing, and very strong, even more so than well-developed abs or arms.

You might be asking what’s the secret of getting big pecs? Well, there isn’t one simple method that will promise that you’ll suddenly have huge pecs. Building your pecs will require a lot of work and time to get the to the point you want them to be. You will probably have to do more than just changing your workout routine, however, that plays a vital role.

The first thing that you should do if you plan on building pecs is to avoid straining yourself. Some people have the idea that if they work out pecs to the point exhaustion, they’ll build up their pecs quickly. However, this is a big misconception and can actually be damaging.

If you already work out heavily, then you can’t improve your pec situation by just working out more. You’ll only exhaust yourself and possibly damage your muscles without seeing much gain. Instead, you should focus on increasing the efficiency of your work out.

For example, if you switch from traditional press movements and focus more on the exercises that isolate specific areas in the pectorals for the best results. A great way to do this is by doing flys, since they provide a more complete workout than straight presses. Flys are done by simply taking a pair of dumbbells and lifting them up parallel to your body. This can be done in a number of various positions, such as standing, laying flat or being inclined.

“How to get impressive pecs” isn’t a question that can be answered by any one change. Modifying your diet and making other positive lifestyle changes can also be important for building up this group of muscles.

Learn the method I used when I asked myself how to get pecs really fast. Make sure to read this great post: how to get big pecs really fast.