Jun 29
To begin you will need to understand some basic concepts of strength training. Once you have mastered some basic information (such as sets, reps and intensity) we can move on to the tools such as a 1 rep max, body fat calculator and basal metabolic rate (BMR). These tools help us know what weight we should start with during our workout, how many calories to ingest during the day and what the normal range of body fat is for my demographic.
Jun 29
Who says a good workout needs to take an hour or even more? If you’re like me and have a busy lifestyle, with plenty of job/school/family obligations and endless amounts of “other stuff” slamming your schedule, finding a spare hour can be about as unlikely as watching a judge congratulate Lindsey Lohan on the progress she’s made.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that a great workout can be had in only 10 minutes, just 1/6 of an hour. The key is upping the high intensity to account for the decreased training time.
When time is short, think of yourself as a member of the Bomb Squad. You’ve got 10 minutes to give yourself a high intensity workout-any slacking or lagging, and… BOOM. There’s plenty of work and muscle to be had, so there’s no room for a half-assed effort.
So that’s it. If you are ready to push yourself and want to save a huge amount of time, here’s a workout for you. Remember, the clock is ticking…
Increasing Intensity
Intensity is the key to getting the most out of a quick workout. In this case, I am defining intensity two ways: work done per unit of time and intensity of effort. I understand there are differing views as to what the term intensity means and that intensity of effort is something that is hard to put into real terms, as it is largely subjective.
In this case, intensity of effort is tied into extended set techniques and training to failure. Quick does not mean have to mean easy! One of the other keys is to accept you will not be able to use a lot of exercises per bodypart. You have to make good choices here and pick quality movements.
In every routine I will present, you will train with little to no rest between sets. Even the warmups will be done quickly. For the most part, we still want to work up to a heavy weight on the big basics, but we’ll need to get there fast. You can still train in a progressive manner, which to me is first and foremost continuing to add weight on several core movements, such as Squats, Deadlifts and Bench Presses.
Training To Failure
Currently, the idea of training to or past failure has come under quite a bit of questioning, with many people going with the thinking that says failure is not necessary. I believe that even if you make an educated choice to not go that far in your workouts, you should at least experience it once so you know what it’s like to really push yourself in your training.
Personally, I tend to feel cycling progressively tougher workouts makes a lot of sense – variety is one of the keys to progress and one great way to maintain variety is to do different but progressive workouts. Those that follow my writings know I’ve talked a lot about this recently – your body adjusts to your routine within 3-4 weeks and then it’s time to change.
You can make minor changes such as exercise order, body part groupings and so on and/or you can also make major routine changes such as going from straight sets to drops or rest/pause with static holds. I do think that, regardless of how your current routine looks, you should always keep certain core movements and should always be striving to add weight to the bar on those movements.
May 22
Bruce Lee is a legend in the martial arts community. Lee almost single-handedly introduced the power and mystique of martial arts to the Western world.
Bruce Lee’s success didn’t come easy. Lee abided by a strict personal doctrine of philosophy and physical fitness. Every day, we would train his physique as well as his mind.
Bruce Lee’s philosophical influences include Buddhism and Taoism. Lee wrote several books that applied the principles of these philosophical beliefs towards his training regimen.
To Lee, training was more than just getting into shape and going through the motions. One of Lee’s famous quotations that could be applied to his fighting style was “be formless, shapeless… like water.”
This quotation is an example of Lee’s versatility in martial arts and in Bruce Lee fitness routine. Lee knew how to adapt to any situation and make it work for him.
Bruce Lee preached the importance of weight training to his students. While most martial artists of Lee’s era focused on fighting skills, Lee gained a distinct advantage due to his dedicated resistance training program.
Bruce Lee workout routine includes resistance workout three times a week:
Chest: Bench Press
2 sets of 6 reps
During the bench press movement, Lee concentrated on strict form and full range of motion. The bench press should be at the center of a thorough upper body strengthening program.
Legs: Squats
2 sets of 12 reps
This vital compound exercise develops a strong foundation for martial artists. Squats effectively work all the muscles of the legs.
Shoulders: Clean and Press
2 sets of 8 reps
This classical weightlifting exercise is another compound movement that helps increase overall body strength. In this exercise, a barbell is lifted from the floor to the shoulders in one explosive movement.
Afterwards, the weight is pressed straight up over the shoulders, and then brought back down to the floor.
Back: Barbell Pull Overs
2 sets of 8 reps
To perform this exercise, lie flat on a bench. Hold a barbell with your hands about shoulder-width grip apart and then lower it back behind your neck.
Lower Back/Legs: Good Mornings
2 sets of 8 reps
Bruce Lee frequently taught his students the benefits of this exercise. To perform a Good Morning, hold a barbell across your shoulders and then bend forward with the bar. During this movement, keep your legs and back straight.
Caution – This exercise can be harmful for people who suffer from lower back injuries.
Biceps: Barbell Curls
2 sets of 8 reps
This exercise helps develop martial artists grabbing and pulling strength. This can be done with a barbell or set of dumbbells. To perform this movement, start with the weight at your side and slowly curl it up toward your chest.
Bruce Lee’s weightlifting routine concentrates on compound movements that focus on increasing overall total body strength. To be successful, you should apply Lee’s training philosophy “Above all, never cheat on any exercise.”
Along with bodybuilding, Lee would incorporate flexibility, cardio and abdominal training into his daily routine. This well-rounded approach to physical fitness was part of the ingredients that helped make Bruce Lee a lean, mean fighting machine.
Cardio Exercise
Lee ran up to six miles daily in under 45 minutes. He also trained on a stationary bike. He would ride the equivalent of 10 miles in 45 minutes.
Flexibility
Bruce Lee also understood the importance of flexibility in martial arts. He performed full body stretches every day prior to his training.
Abdominal Training
Bruce Lee workout routine included sit-ups and other abdominal exercises throughout the day. When watching television, he would perform sit-ups, leg raises and V-ups. Bruce Lee often said that a strong mid-section was crucial for power and absorbing blows during sparring.
Much like his physical training, Lee took a disciplined approach to his diet. Lee’s diet regimen consisted of the following precepts:
Small Portions
Lee often ate several smaller meals throughout the day, instead of three large meals. This concept has been widely adopted today by many bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts.
Protein Shakes
Bruce Lee consumed up to two protein shakes every day. Protein is the building block of muscle and will assist in helping your body repair itself after tough exercise.
Avoid Refined Flour
Lee defined foods containing refined flour as “empty calories.” Baked foods like cakes and biscuits were strictly off limits.
Fruits and Vegetables
Lee also consumed both fruit and vegetables daily. He often made juices and smoothies containing carrots, apples, celery and bananas. These high-quality sources of carbohydrates helped give Lee enough energy to get through his daily grueling workouts.
The following list details several of Lee’s extraordinary physical accomplishments.
Bruce Lee’s commitment toward self-improvement and his disciplined training routine obviously created amazing abilities. Bruce Lee workout plan had martial arts every day for at least two hours along with his physical fitness routine.
You don’t have to be a world class martial artist to incorporate some of Bruce Lee’s fitness methodologies into your exercise routine. However, with a little discipline and careful adherence to a well planned routine, you may surprise yourself with the results.
May 22
Getting on that treadmill, elliptical trainer or exercise cycle many of us carefully look at the digital calorie counter built into the machine to see how many calories we have burnt. Based on that we do the math about whether we have burnt enough calories to set off the calories we have consumed during the day.
Can we rely on them to tell us exactly how many calories we’ve burnt? Well, calorie counters may be a broad indication, but they are not really accurate.
While other parameters that the digital display shows;such as the distance covered, minutes spent on the machine, even the speed at which you work out and your heart rate, these could all be more accurate since these can be accurately recorded and displayed.
When it comes to the calorie counting function, this is really just a calculation based on the average person who works out on the machine.
It cannot and does not take into account one’s age, weight, BMI, fitness levels and so on. Even if one’s vital statistics are fed into the machine, it will give you only approximate results based on the general formula that the machine has been calibrated to work out.
Individual differences such as fitness levels, height, weight, age, body composition and other factors determine how many calories are burnt but calorie counters cannot take all of this into consideration. So depending upon the way that the different machines have been calibrated, they may give different readings on their calorie counters.
While one brand of treadmill says you have burnt X amount of calories by running on it for half an hour at a given speed and incline, another treadmill could give you a lower or higher reading for the same amount of exertion.
Calorie counters are indicative and they can give you a broad idea. The sort of machines that require you to fill in personal details such as age, weight, height and so on, are perhaps more accurate than those which take into account only the speed of a workout and amount of time spent on the machine.
Further the calorie counters can provide some amount of satisfaction at the end of a workout; that a substantial amount of calories have been burnt even if the exact amount may not be clear. Also knowing this can act as motivation for a person to keep working out since the readouts can form a sort of progress report.
May 22
Either because you have the archetypal pear shaped body or you are getting on a bit in years and find that various parts of your body are losing the battle with gravity, or for any of a hundred reasons, many of us seek to have a firmer butt and leaner legs.
So what fitness toning workouts will help to achieve the best rear end possible, and firmly banish the term thunder thighs from your lexicon?
A number of fitness toning exercises that work for the legs can often also work for the butt as well; here is what will work to give you a firmer butt and leaner, more toned legs.
These are excellent fitness toning exercises for the legs as well as the glutes (butt). A squat can be performed using a chair or without it and with the knees shoulder-width apart.
Perform the exercise slowly and deliberately to get the muscles to work their hardest.
This exercise makes you use the leg and the butt muscles very effectively which is why it is excellent for fitness toning of the lower body. Lunges are another great exercise that uses the leg and butt muscles.
You can add variation to the regular lunge by also doing the reverse lunge (you step back rather than forward as in the regular lunge) to help engage more muscles in the fitness toning process.
The exercise ball can be used in different ways for fitness toning the legs and butt. One effective move has you lying down on the ball resting on the hips and abs – extending the arms forward, clutch on to something to steady yourself and then extending the legs up and off the floor. This should make you feel the tension in the leg and butt muscles so that you know you are working those muscles for fitness toning them.
You can also use regular stairs for this fitness toning exercise or an aerobic stepper or exercise bench. Even regular climbing of stairs at a fair clip, is a great workout for the butt and legs so whenever possible skip the elevator and the escalator and take the stairs instead.
Leg extensions that involve raising the leg while in a standing position, to the extent that they are about parallel to the ground, can be done in both directions; forward as well as towards the back. Leg extensions are also excellent fitness toning exercises for the butt and the legs.
These fitness toning exercises are performed by lying flat on the ground, and raising one and then the other leg or both legs together as well. You will feel the clenching of the glutes and the leg muscles as you perform this maneuver. Be sure not to swing your legs up but perform the movements deliberately and consciously for best results.