This is a rather important concept which I oddly seem to ignore fairly often.
YOu always have to pay attention to what you are doing at all times.
Ever since I started working out at an actual gym (not a kickboxing gym) I have been misusing the Chest Press machine. This particular one requires you to push a bar with your feet when you are done your reps. I did not know this.
I'm now needing to see a doctor because I believe I have torn my rotator cuff.
So it is important to read the machines carefully and follow all directions to the letter.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
SK Fitness Store NOW OPEN
We now have a amazon.ca store for everything fitness related.
have a look!
have a look!
Minimalist Training
Don't have expensive equipment or a gym membership? Living in a small town or a rural area with very limited fitness options?
This is not a problem at all.
The best tool if you are starting out on your fitness journey is actually your own bodyweight.
To understand this you have to know that there are 6 primal movements. And they are:
Twist
Bend
Pull
Push
Squat
Lunge
Bodyweight is perfect for all of these starting out.
Squat and Lunge are pretty straight forward, I don't think I really need to explain it. And great exercises for your legs. Infact the squat is an exercise that causes your quads to still be burning an increase calories for up 24 hours after you have finished. Neat eh?
Pull and Push are again pretty easy exercises. Push ups are the perfect push exercise and they work almost every single muscle in your body in some way including the stabilizing muscles. If you cannot do regular full push ups, try doing them from your knees or if you can't do that, do them against the wall and gradually build up your ability.
Pull/Chin Ups or body rows, if you happen to have a chin up bar or even monkey bars from a playground handy these are the best pull activites that work your back muscles wonderfully. If you are unable to do pull/chin ups regularly, try having one foot on a chair to assit you, or even a workout buddy. Body rows you have the bar lower to the ground and hang off it with your knees bent to lighten the resistance (depending on your skill level) and you pull.
Twist, a great one for those pesky abs. The Russian Twist works this action just fine. You can do this with or without a weight.
Bend, the best beginner exercise for bend is: stand on one foot and bend forward keeping your spine in a neutral flat position and reach with the same side as the foot you are standing on, and then return to standing. It's ok to balance yourself with your other hand on a chair or table.
Another great bend exercise is: The deadlift! It's a great lower back and hamstring exercise, however technique is to be almost perfect otherwise you do risk injury to your lower back. I strongly suggest consulting with a credible personal trainer to get the technique down right before attempting this solo.
This is not a problem at all.
The best tool if you are starting out on your fitness journey is actually your own bodyweight.
To understand this you have to know that there are 6 primal movements. And they are:
Twist
Bend
Pull
Push
Squat
Lunge
Bodyweight is perfect for all of these starting out.
Squat and Lunge are pretty straight forward, I don't think I really need to explain it. And great exercises for your legs. Infact the squat is an exercise that causes your quads to still be burning an increase calories for up 24 hours after you have finished. Neat eh?
Pull and Push are again pretty easy exercises. Push ups are the perfect push exercise and they work almost every single muscle in your body in some way including the stabilizing muscles. If you cannot do regular full push ups, try doing them from your knees or if you can't do that, do them against the wall and gradually build up your ability.
Pull/Chin Ups or body rows, if you happen to have a chin up bar or even monkey bars from a playground handy these are the best pull activites that work your back muscles wonderfully. If you are unable to do pull/chin ups regularly, try having one foot on a chair to assit you, or even a workout buddy. Body rows you have the bar lower to the ground and hang off it with your knees bent to lighten the resistance (depending on your skill level) and you pull.
Twist, a great one for those pesky abs. The Russian Twist works this action just fine. You can do this with or without a weight.
Bend, the best beginner exercise for bend is: stand on one foot and bend forward keeping your spine in a neutral flat position and reach with the same side as the foot you are standing on, and then return to standing. It's ok to balance yourself with your other hand on a chair or table.
Another great bend exercise is: The deadlift! It's a great lower back and hamstring exercise, however technique is to be almost perfect otherwise you do risk injury to your lower back. I strongly suggest consulting with a credible personal trainer to get the technique down right before attempting this solo.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Cardio Training
Since it is the typical New Years Resolution time I thought I should discuss how to properly do the cardio aspect of your routine. And since I saw many people are the gym yesterday only doing long drawn out sessions of cardio I think this is needed.
So which is better? Shorter intense cardio or long drawn out at a moderate pace?
They both have their advantages, however if you are trying to lose weight your best bet would be to do shorter more intense cardio training (interval training) after you have built up a base cardio ability by doing drawn out moderate paced training.
For example, the easiest way I can describe interval training to you via this blog is:
Go to a street that has telephone poles along it, and after a proper warm up, run as hard as you can between two poles and then do an "active recovery" jog between 2-3 and then repeat for 10-20 minutes.
So which is better? Shorter intense cardio or long drawn out at a moderate pace?
They both have their advantages, however if you are trying to lose weight your best bet would be to do shorter more intense cardio training (interval training) after you have built up a base cardio ability by doing drawn out moderate paced training.
For example, the easiest way I can describe interval training to you via this blog is:
Go to a street that has telephone poles along it, and after a proper warm up, run as hard as you can between two poles and then do an "active recovery" jog between 2-3 and then repeat for 10-20 minutes.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Extremes Sell
This is sadly true and it's an odd fact for the human species.
Look on the cover of almost any fitness or "health" magazine and you will see one of the three following types:
Super Tall and Super Skinny. These are usually females and they are usually way to slim to actually be healthy and happy. For example, I am talking about a woman who is say 5 foot 9 or 10 and weighs all of 102 lbs. Unless she has the genetics for it, she probably is not healthy and it probably trying to make herself look a certain way in order to make society happy.
"Muscle Monkeys" These guys, and sometimes ladies with muscles popping and bulging veins exploding from under paper thin skin. I call these Muscle Monkeys, spend 4-6 hours a day pumping iron and usually jacked off of a combination of various chemicals that I doubt a pharmacist could pronounce let alone suggest.
"The 700 lb man or woman who lost 550 lbs and you can too" I am still trying to figure out why society is in amazed with either very very very large people or very very very tiny people.
So what about those of us in the middle? My personal and professional oppinion is that we should select goals for ourselves that are a challenge but in the realm of possible. We should make healthy food choices and not eat fast food everyday or drink five galons of pop a day. Make an honest attempt at being more active and not spend 8 hours a day watching TV.
Look on the cover of almost any fitness or "health" magazine and you will see one of the three following types:
Super Tall and Super Skinny. These are usually females and they are usually way to slim to actually be healthy and happy. For example, I am talking about a woman who is say 5 foot 9 or 10 and weighs all of 102 lbs. Unless she has the genetics for it, she probably is not healthy and it probably trying to make herself look a certain way in order to make society happy.
"Muscle Monkeys" These guys, and sometimes ladies with muscles popping and bulging veins exploding from under paper thin skin. I call these Muscle Monkeys, spend 4-6 hours a day pumping iron and usually jacked off of a combination of various chemicals that I doubt a pharmacist could pronounce let alone suggest.
"The 700 lb man or woman who lost 550 lbs and you can too" I am still trying to figure out why society is in amazed with either very very very large people or very very very tiny people.
So what about those of us in the middle? My personal and professional oppinion is that we should select goals for ourselves that are a challenge but in the realm of possible. We should make healthy food choices and not eat fast food everyday or drink five galons of pop a day. Make an honest attempt at being more active and not spend 8 hours a day watching TV.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Great Fitness Book!!!!
First on the Bill is:
Anatomy of Exercise
Pat Manocchia
I love this book. If I am designing a routine and I am unable to think of anything for a particular body part I grab this book. It's awesome, if you are in the market for a exercise book and limited funds, I strongly suggest this book. It shows great warm ups, stretches and the proper technique of each exercise. It also details which muscle is being activated primarily.
Anatomy of Exercise
Pat Manocchia
I love this book. If I am designing a routine and I am unable to think of anything for a particular body part I grab this book. It's awesome, if you are in the market for a exercise book and limited funds, I strongly suggest this book. It shows great warm ups, stretches and the proper technique of each exercise. It also details which muscle is being activated primarily.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Body types, an introduction
Another friend gave me a great idea to do a multi-part discussion on body types and how to train correctly for each type. So tonight I am going to start it off with an introduction.
There are 3 body types. It does not matter about gender, age, race or whatever else. If you are human you fit into 1 of the 3 or a mix of 2 of them.
Endomorph -
If we look at the above picture you can see that typical Endomorph tends to be:
Round
Easier time gaining muscle
Slightly harder time losing fat
Heavier set
Pear shaped
Mesomorph -
Muscular/Atheletic look
Easy time losing fat and gaining muscle
Considered the "ideal" body type
Ectomorph-
Slim to frail
Insanly easy time losing fat
Almost impossible to gain and maintain muscle
Very slender
Every single person on the planet will either fit into one of these three types or is a hybrid (Ecto-Meso or Endo-Meso). If anyone tells you they are a hybrid of Ecto-Endo, they likely do not know what they are saying and are probably confused with the names of the types.
There are 3 body types. It does not matter about gender, age, race or whatever else. If you are human you fit into 1 of the 3 or a mix of 2 of them.
Endomorph -
If we look at the above picture you can see that typical Endomorph tends to be:
Round
Easier time gaining muscle
Slightly harder time losing fat
Heavier set
Pear shaped
Mesomorph -
Muscular/Atheletic look
Easy time losing fat and gaining muscle
Considered the "ideal" body type
Ectomorph-
Slim to frail
Insanly easy time losing fat
Almost impossible to gain and maintain muscle
Very slender
Every single person on the planet will either fit into one of these three types or is a hybrid (Ecto-Meso or Endo-Meso). If anyone tells you they are a hybrid of Ecto-Endo, they likely do not know what they are saying and are probably confused with the names of the types.
Exercise FAQs
I'm going to answer some of the most common questions I have been asked. This may end up being a series.
If I lift weights, won't I end up looking like Arnold?
Unless you have the genetics for this to happen, no. I have heard this question from alot of women and a few men. Some bodybuilders resort to "alternative medicine" in order to get the look that is desirable for their sport. The credible ones who do it without those medicines usually spend hours upon hours in the gym crafting their bodies for the sport. So again, unless you have the genetics and spend hours in the gym a day. You will not end up looking like Arnold if you lift weights.
Why aren't I losing weight, the Cardio machine has said I'm in fat burning mode:
Unless you are going at your current pace for hours on the machine you are not in fat burning mode. Those machines are kind of misleading in that aspect. In order for you to lose weight doing cardio you would be better off figuring out your heart rate targets and staying within them. Or by doing interval training once you build up a base cardio ability. I will investigate this more in my next article.
Can't I just get fit by only lifting weights? I hate doing cardio.
I mainly hear this from younger guys. While you will gain a small gains in cardio ability by doing strength training you would be better off doing a regime that blends cardio and weight/strength training together in order to cover all your bases. So guys, go do some cardio it's good for your heart and will help you be able to pump that iron for longer.
My muscles hurt after working out, how can I stop this?
After your workout which should include a proper warm up, you should stretch out the muscles you worked which will limit the soreness. And after the workout eat or drink something that contains ample protein.
Do I really have to do cardio? It's so boring, I feel like a hamster on a wheel going nowhere.
Yes, you have to do cardio. If it bores you so much then do something you like to do. Other great cardio options that don't involve machines are: Running stairs, snowshoeing, swimming, rowing, soccer, basketball, jogging, skating, walking, playing with your kids, taking the stairs at work, parking further away from work/mall and more. You don't have to do your cardio on the machines at the gym but you need atleast 30 minutes a day 5 to 7 times a week to be of benefit.
If I lift weights, won't I end up looking like Arnold?
Unless you have the genetics for this to happen, no. I have heard this question from alot of women and a few men. Some bodybuilders resort to "alternative medicine" in order to get the look that is desirable for their sport. The credible ones who do it without those medicines usually spend hours upon hours in the gym crafting their bodies for the sport. So again, unless you have the genetics and spend hours in the gym a day. You will not end up looking like Arnold if you lift weights.
Why aren't I losing weight, the Cardio machine has said I'm in fat burning mode:
Unless you are going at your current pace for hours on the machine you are not in fat burning mode. Those machines are kind of misleading in that aspect. In order for you to lose weight doing cardio you would be better off figuring out your heart rate targets and staying within them. Or by doing interval training once you build up a base cardio ability. I will investigate this more in my next article.
Can't I just get fit by only lifting weights? I hate doing cardio.
I mainly hear this from younger guys. While you will gain a small gains in cardio ability by doing strength training you would be better off doing a regime that blends cardio and weight/strength training together in order to cover all your bases. So guys, go do some cardio it's good for your heart and will help you be able to pump that iron for longer.
My muscles hurt after working out, how can I stop this?
After your workout which should include a proper warm up, you should stretch out the muscles you worked which will limit the soreness. And after the workout eat or drink something that contains ample protein.
Do I really have to do cardio? It's so boring, I feel like a hamster on a wheel going nowhere.
Yes, you have to do cardio. If it bores you so much then do something you like to do. Other great cardio options that don't involve machines are: Running stairs, snowshoeing, swimming, rowing, soccer, basketball, jogging, skating, walking, playing with your kids, taking the stairs at work, parking further away from work/mall and more. You don't have to do your cardio on the machines at the gym but you need atleast 30 minutes a day 5 to 7 times a week to be of benefit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)