Fit and Youthful Life

Guest Author: Mike Singh


When it comes to fitness, there are many options to choose from. You can do anything from aerobics to muscle training. Each depends on the benefits you are looking for specifically. While aerobics is designed primarily to lose weight, training is used to tone up your muscles and sculpt them. Aerobics and weight training can be combined to maximize the benefits as well.

When it comes to this form of fitness you must take into consideration that the pounds lost, do not necessarily reflect your total success. When you use muscle training in your routine, you are building muscle mass. Muscle weighs more than the fat; therefore you may be getting slimmer even without losing a ton of weight on the scale. Inches lost are usually a more accurate and better indicator when it comes to muscle training. If you are muscle training as part of your fitness routine, another great indicator is muscle tone and definition.

Not only can you train in combination with aerobic exercise, you can also do it all by itself. This can be done primarily for that extra boost of confidence after weight loss. Muscle training alone can help your clothes fit better. This training alone is usually reserved for those who are at the weight they desire, but just want more definition. Sometimes it can be used for those who are underweight. By building muscle mass, they can appear healthier and fitter.

Just remember when it comes to weight training, do not over do it. Unless you are a body builder, too much muscle training or overtraining can make you bigger than you wanted. Your best bet when it comes to such training, is to find a personal trainer. A personal trainer can determine how much and what kind of training will work best for you. Based on what you tell them your goals are, they can devise a training program personally for you. They can develop a muscle training program that targets specific areas and even avoids some, if you wish.

There are many varied reasons that people use muscle training. From weight loss, to sculpting, to building bulk, all use muscle training. There are also many benefits to muscle training as well. A better physique, an extra boost to weight loss, better fitting clothes, and just being healthier are all reasons for muscle training. Including it in your routine is always a good idea if these seem like benefits that you would like.

Guest Author: Eddie Lomax


I’m just going to come out and say it.

Stop bodybuilding and start athletic weight training. If you are not a bodybuilder, or aspire to be one, then don’t train like one. Bodybuilding training is great for bodybuilding, but it is not the answer for a high level of fitness or an attractive, athletic body. There, I said it.

Just so we’re clear, here is what I mean when I say bodybuilding. Bodybuilding uses sets, reps and loads with only one goal in mind, building muscle. The exercise selection strives to isolate muscles and treats the body as a collection of specific muscles. Often, split routines are used where the body is split into different parts and trained in groups, like back and bi, chest and tri, etc.

Sound familiar?

The “success” of a bodybuilding program is based on appearance, not performance. The size and shape of the muscles are the goal, the only goal. (Of course, fat loss plays a role, but is done only so you can SEE the muscles better, and not for health or performance reasons.) Quite frankly, health and performance are of no consequence, and in my opinion are often sacrificed in the quest for bigger muscles.

So, why do so many exercisers who aren’t bodybuilders end up doing bodybuilding routines?

One of the driving forces to exercise is to look better. You look in the mirror and notice you are out of shape. Literally, your shape is out of whack. You’re covered in fat in places you shouldn’t be, and lacking in muscle where it should be. Changing your appearance is the main goal. Since the only goal of bodybuilding is changing appearance by building large muscles and eliminating fat covering them, it is easy to see how people make the transition to bodybuilding training.

But, more often than not, bodybuilding does not fit with the overall goals of the exerciser. How many times have I heard, “I want to put on some muscle, but I don’t want to look like a bodybuilder!” Too many to count.

In my opinion, most exercisers want the strong, lean, athletic body of an athlete. They want a body with strong, hard muscles and void of fat. But they also want to feel and perform better. They want their weight training to improve health and enable them to meet the challenges of sport, work and life with excellence. So, they want to be more like an athlete than a bodybuilder.

Athletic weight training is better for most exercisers goals than bodybuilding training. It treats you as an athlete, not a bodybuilder. This change in weight training helps you perform better and feel better, and results in the muscular, lean, athletic body most exercisers want.

So ask yourself. Do you want to look like an athlete or a bodybuilder? If you answer “bodybuilder”, then you already know what to do. (Most of the information on weight training is based on bodybuilding practices). If you answer “athlete”, you’re going to have to look a little harder. But finally reaching your fitness, fat loss and physique goals make it worth the effort!



Look 10 Years Younger

Guest Author: Wesley McDermott


Weight Training is one of the best ways to beef up and get fit. All the benefits of weight training are way too numerous to list now, you may know a lot of them or you may not, but what you should know is that it’s one of the best things you can do to get that body you want. The whole purpose of this article is to help you come to terms with the wide array of terminology used in the weight training world. Whether you are speaking to a personal trainer, reading from a book, or listening to a salesperson it’s always good to know what they’re talking about.

Maybe you have thought about joining a gym or thought about buying a piece of gym equipment. Either way you’re probably going to get bombarded with some terminology that you don’t understand. The gym and people within in it tend to use terms that would baffle most, and this article is about trying to understand these terms so that you know and feel comfortable with conversations regarding weight lifting in the future.

Some of the basic terms used are:

Routine : The range of exercises you carry out make up a routine. Whether it be a whole body routine or a half body routine (upper or lower body) it is more popular that a routine is split up over 3 days a week, so that you have time for your muscles to recover in time for your next workout. Always remember and take into consideration the time it takes for your muscles to recover when designing a routine. The best way to design your routine around this is to separate the 3 training days with a day off in between. So you would train Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Repetitions (Reps) – Let’s say your doing push ups shall we. Taking into consideration the normal technique of a push up is lying down with 2 hands placed shoulder width apart flat on the floor. You then push up keeping your back straight, and at the top of the movement you lower yourself back down again and repeat. Doing this once counts as one repetition (rep). The amount of reps that are recommended is very important as any more or less could bring upon the results that you didn’t desire. For instance – If you did more reps than recommended then you could decrease muscle growth and just increase your stamina. Whatever your goal is the amount of reps reflect it.

Sets – If you do 10 push ups then rest a minute and do another 10 thats 2 sets all together. A set is defined by the exercise then rest affiliation. Sometimes personal trainers will recommend doing less reps in each set. Say, 1 set for 10 reps, then 1 set for 8 reps, and so on.

Spot – If anyone asks you while you’re in the gym do you need spotting, don’t take it as an insult, because they’re not saying you have spots, they’re simply asking you if you want them to assist you if you’re lifting a heavy weight. This is particularly useful if you want to lift to failure.

Free weights – These are simply weights that free of machinery, they include dumbbells and barbells. You have to physically load the weights onto the bar.

Rack – The rack which is sometimes known as the pwer rack is used for many exercises. It’s the big metal contraption with holes drill dup both sides so that you can slide a safety bar in. A rack can be used for squats, chin ups, and a wide variety of other exercises.

Circuit routine – A circuit routine combines a number of cardio exercises with weight training. This is where you perform a variety of weight training exercises back to back without having a rest period in between. A circuit routine like this is generally used as a form of toning up and cutting to get rid of those few extra calories.

Negative – You may here someone in the gym saying something like “Why don’t you add some negatives”. What they mean by negatives is the lowering of a weight. Say in a bicep curl, you lift the weight up and then you let the bar down. The negative is the part were you let the weight down. This is know as the negative porion of a rep and it can be very effective at stimulating muscles. Some people increase the amount of time on a negative rep than they do on the positive rep, which in turn increases more muscle tension and allows for more muscle growth.

Some less than obvious muscle terms :

Pecs – Pectorals (Chest)

Lats – Lattisimus Dorsi (Muscles in your back that flare out)

Hams – Hamstrings

Glutes – Gluteus Maximus (Butt Muscles)

Traps – Trapezuis (The muscle that goes from your neck to your shoulders)

Bi’s – Biceps

Tri’s – Triceps

Quads – Quadriceps (Your thigh muscles)

Delts – Deltoids (Your shoulder muscles)

Abs – Andominals (Your stomach muscles)

Right, go to the gym right now and ask a personal trainer for a 3 on 1 off mass building routine with reps containing an increased negative motion at a tempo of 1-3-1 with special emphasis on your glutes and delts….Only kidding.

If you’re a beginner I do hope you have learned something from this article. If you are experienced at weight training then you’ve just wasted your time because you should already know this LOL.

Get straight to enjoying the many benefits of weight training, be stronger, leaner, and more confident within yourself starting tomorrow.

All the best in health.

Wesley McDermott



Instant Wrinkle Reducer

Guest Author: Kyle Oxenham


Whether you want to lift more weight or get stronger, Knowing how power is developed in your body is key to getting stronger and more powerful in your sport, activity or weight training itself.

There are 5 key components to developing mega power:

1. Starting Acceleration

2. Progressive Acceleration

3. Power Output

4. Stability

5. Re-coordination

The First stage to power development is:

1. Starting Acceleration:

This is the initial burst of power in a movement, when you start from a dead stop and explode with power, the first few inches is where the starting Acceleration is developed. It will help your mind and body to learn to contract your muscles and release explosive power instantly.

For Example when doing heavier squats, or if you want to jump higher, you must practice starting acceleration.

Do this by sitting in a chair or on a box, in a position to explode back up, let your muscles relax, then spring up as fast as possible, for at least the first few inches.

After practicing without weight you can add about 35% of your max squat, and do the same thing with the weight.

NOTE: It’s a similar effect as the one-inch punch, start at a dead stop, and explode an inch with your fist, this is an example of what Bruce Lee did to help develop impressive strength, power and speed in his punch.

The Second Stage of Power Development is:

2. Progressive Acceleration:

This is where you train your body to be able to work at full power, speed and strength at various angles in a specific movement.

There are a couple ways to train for progressive acceleration, you can train for speed and strength. You should do both.

The purpose of Progressive Acceleration is to maintain or speed up as you rise in your movement (ex. squat), not decrease in speed. And you want to use full strength throughout the movement as well.

A great way to increase your progressive acceleration speed is by using a pool, for example when you are touching the bottom of the pool with you feet, squat down and spring back up off the bottom, you will notice that you are very light in the water, and you actually speed up as you rise, this teaching you mind and body to speed up the contraction of your muscles, even with little to no-resistance.

Another form of progressive acceleration performed by sprinters is running down a hill, this forces your legs to move faster than normal, and increase your contraction and limb speed.

When developing more progressive acceleration strength you can try pushing against an unmovable object with all your force, as various angles, so for a bench press you can lock out the bar right at chest level and push your hardest for at least 10 seconds, then rest a couple minutes and lock the bar at mid level and do the same, then lock the bar at peak level and finish. (Important Note: If you feel you are not pushing your hardest stop and rest.) Progressive acceleration can be added to your routine 1-2 times a week.

The third stage to power development is:

3. Power Output

This is where you will have to really keep track and record your numbers, you want to basically do as much work in as little time as possible at top speed.

For example, person A who lifts 200lbs for 4 reps in 15 seconds is about twice as powerful than person B who lifts 200lbs for 4 reps in 30 seconds. You goal is to increase weight lifted, increase speed, or decrease time. Numbers don’t lie, if you work the numbers you will be in control of your progress and improvement.

The Forth Stage of Power Development is:

4. Stability

Having strong stability muscles is important, it’s like making sure the wheels on you car are aligned correctly to make sure you can go at top speed with no problems.

Because you are performing weight lifting and resistance training, your stability muscles are going to be worked and become strong naturally, but if you feel you need to do more, then add some stability exercises to your routine, like standing on one leg or using a stability ball for balancing on while lifting.

The last stage to power development is:

5. Re-coordination:

This is at the end of your workout after the heavy training or weights. You basically want to practice the main functional movements that you may want to improve.

For example if you want to throw harder punches, then go hit the bag, or if you want to jump higher go practice your jumping technique. But only do about 5 – 10 good reps.

This will program your mind and body to remember the last movements done, so you will also subconsciously improve as well.

So that’s it!

When developing your power, you can do all 5 stages in one workout or you can spread them out over your week of training, doing one stage per workout.

If you use the power development stages you will continue to get stronger and more powerful, because remember numbers don’t lie.

Now with this information you are well ahead of most weight lifters, athletes, coaches, and even trainers, so if someone doesn’t know the stages of power development then they don’t really know power!



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