Muscles can be subjected to 4 different types of contraction in order to achieve hypertrophy, increased physical strength and agility.
The first type is a concentric contraction where the muscle gets shorter as it contracts. This type of contraction is used in the up movement of almost every exercise. Bicep curls, leg extensions, chest press, shoulder press, bent over row, etc... all have an upwards movement that is concentric.
The second type of contraction is eccentric where the muscle gets longer as it contracts. The down movement of most exercises is eccentric. Performing sets of eccentric contractions is typically known as performing "negatives". For example if performing a bicep curl, you might bring up the weight at a normal speed but then lower it slowly to achieve an intense eccentric contraction. It should be noted that all muscles are stronger in the eccentric movement than the concentric movements. So if you plan to do negatives, you should always use a heavier weight than when doing concentric exercises.
The third type of contraction is isometric where the muscle remains contracted but there is no change in length. For example, pick up any weight in your hand and lift your arm up straight in front of you (front deltoid raise) and stop there. Hold the weight there are long as you can. Congratulations, you just performed an isometric contraction of your front deltoid. Because isometric contractions usually consist of one continued contraction, best results can be achieved by choosing a slightly lighter weight.
Lastly, there are plyometric contractions. Plyometric contractions are also known as explosive contractions. A plyometric contraction is achieved by performing a concentric contraction with the maximum amount of force, intensity and strength as possible for each repetition. Jumping is the best known plyometric exercise. When broken down to a muscular level, jumping is essentially a squat performed with enough force to lift the body off the ground. Some examples of exercises that can be performed as plyometric include squat (jumping), push-ups, pull ups, chest press. All power lifting exercises (clean pulls, high pulls, clean and press, power snatch, etc...) are made up of plyometric contractions.
I always recommend that a good resistance training program include all 4 types of contractions at least once per muscle group. Not only is it a good practice because it promotes higher density muscles and greater strength it's also a very good way to tire up your muscle very quickly. So for those of you who are pressed for time, this can be a great way to get the max out of your workout in the least amount of time.
The first type is a concentric contraction where the muscle gets shorter as it contracts. This type of contraction is used in the up movement of almost every exercise. Bicep curls, leg extensions, chest press, shoulder press, bent over row, etc... all have an upwards movement that is concentric.
The second type of contraction is eccentric where the muscle gets longer as it contracts. The down movement of most exercises is eccentric. Performing sets of eccentric contractions is typically known as performing "negatives". For example if performing a bicep curl, you might bring up the weight at a normal speed but then lower it slowly to achieve an intense eccentric contraction. It should be noted that all muscles are stronger in the eccentric movement than the concentric movements. So if you plan to do negatives, you should always use a heavier weight than when doing concentric exercises.
The third type of contraction is isometric where the muscle remains contracted but there is no change in length. For example, pick up any weight in your hand and lift your arm up straight in front of you (front deltoid raise) and stop there. Hold the weight there are long as you can. Congratulations, you just performed an isometric contraction of your front deltoid. Because isometric contractions usually consist of one continued contraction, best results can be achieved by choosing a slightly lighter weight.
Lastly, there are plyometric contractions. Plyometric contractions are also known as explosive contractions. A plyometric contraction is achieved by performing a concentric contraction with the maximum amount of force, intensity and strength as possible for each repetition. Jumping is the best known plyometric exercise. When broken down to a muscular level, jumping is essentially a squat performed with enough force to lift the body off the ground. Some examples of exercises that can be performed as plyometric include squat (jumping), push-ups, pull ups, chest press. All power lifting exercises (clean pulls, high pulls, clean and press, power snatch, etc...) are made up of plyometric contractions.
I always recommend that a good resistance training program include all 4 types of contractions at least once per muscle group. Not only is it a good practice because it promotes higher density muscles and greater strength it's also a very good way to tire up your muscle very quickly. So for those of you who are pressed for time, this can be a great way to get the max out of your workout in the least amount of time.
What is one thing cavemen knew much better than we know now? How to survive in the wild? Yes. But more importantly, they knew how to survive in the healthiest way possible. There were no diet programs in those days nor were there shelves full of diet books. What cavemen knew instinctively was exactly what the best diet that works for them.
Let’s all take a quick lesson from our ancestors and see which elements of their diet are tips we can begin to incorporate right way to lose unwanted body fat and improve our health.
1. Cavemen only ate what they could kill or find in the wild. By no means am I suggesting you begin to kill and hunt for your own food (we do have grocery stores now a days, thank goodness) but we still would benefit greatly by following this method in our own 21st century kind of way. If the food on your plate is not something your fellow caveman friend could have hunted, gathered and found himself, chances are you shouldn’t be eating that food. For example, a plate of lean hamburger and vegetables, followed by fresh fruit is perfect (for you and your new friend) but add a piece of bread or some pasta and now you have confused your fellow cave friend. These are not foods that existed during those times and are foods we are much healthier without.
2. Cavemen only drank what they could find. Do you know what people have been able to find for centuries? That’s right, good old fashioned H2O (water that is). Water is truly the magic potion to weight loss and increased health. Unfortunately a great majority of people are walking around severely dehydrated and suffering from many negative side effects which could all be easily resolved by drinking more water. Hunger, headaches, constipation, and digestive discomfort are just a few of the many symptoms that can easily be resolved by a few cups of water. Make sure to drink half of your bodyweight in ounces of water each day (i.e. 200 lbs should drink 100 ounces).
3. Cavemen stayed active for a majority of their day. I know this isn’t exactly part of their Best Diet but it is an essential and integral part of fat loss and optimized health. Tell your new caveman friend that he has to sit in an office chair all day and then go home and sit on the couch for the rest of the night and he will look at you like you are crazy (not that he doesn’t already think you are crazy but this would make matters worse). Move, move, move. Movement doesn’t always mean formal exercise. Take the stairs to your office, walk the parking lot a few extra times, get up and walk around the office a minimum of once per hour, anything to prevent you from sitting all day long. Today if modern man even tried to keep up with the daily activity and regimen of a caveman, they would quickly fall over in exhaustion.
The Best Diet and the Best Lifestyle plan can be easily established by just modeling the daily activities and food choices of cavemen. Use this question today to establish your own caveman habits “Is this food or drink something I could have found in the wild thousands of years ago?” If the answer is no, don’t eat it and find yourself a food that is more natural. Of course, don’t forget to share with your new caveman friend!
Let’s all take a quick lesson from our ancestors and see which elements of their diet are tips we can begin to incorporate right way to lose unwanted body fat and improve our health.
1. Cavemen only ate what they could kill or find in the wild. By no means am I suggesting you begin to kill and hunt for your own food (we do have grocery stores now a days, thank goodness) but we still would benefit greatly by following this method in our own 21st century kind of way. If the food on your plate is not something your fellow caveman friend could have hunted, gathered and found himself, chances are you shouldn’t be eating that food. For example, a plate of lean hamburger and vegetables, followed by fresh fruit is perfect (for you and your new friend) but add a piece of bread or some pasta and now you have confused your fellow cave friend. These are not foods that existed during those times and are foods we are much healthier without.
2. Cavemen only drank what they could find. Do you know what people have been able to find for centuries? That’s right, good old fashioned H2O (water that is). Water is truly the magic potion to weight loss and increased health. Unfortunately a great majority of people are walking around severely dehydrated and suffering from many negative side effects which could all be easily resolved by drinking more water. Hunger, headaches, constipation, and digestive discomfort are just a few of the many symptoms that can easily be resolved by a few cups of water. Make sure to drink half of your bodyweight in ounces of water each day (i.e. 200 lbs should drink 100 ounces).
3. Cavemen stayed active for a majority of their day. I know this isn’t exactly part of their Best Diet but it is an essential and integral part of fat loss and optimized health. Tell your new caveman friend that he has to sit in an office chair all day and then go home and sit on the couch for the rest of the night and he will look at you like you are crazy (not that he doesn’t already think you are crazy but this would make matters worse). Move, move, move. Movement doesn’t always mean formal exercise. Take the stairs to your office, walk the parking lot a few extra times, get up and walk around the office a minimum of once per hour, anything to prevent you from sitting all day long. Today if modern man even tried to keep up with the daily activity and regimen of a caveman, they would quickly fall over in exhaustion.
The Best Diet and the Best Lifestyle plan can be easily established by just modeling the daily activities and food choices of cavemen. Use this question today to establish your own caveman habits “Is this food or drink something I could have found in the wild thousands of years ago?” If the answer is no, don’t eat it and find yourself a food that is more natural. Of course, don’t forget to share with your new caveman friend!
For those of you who already practice good eating habits the next thing you will want to focus on is your workout routine. So I am going to share with you some free tips so that you get the best possible workout and even share with you free workout routines that will allow you to get started easily right away.
First, before getting started, a little bit of theory. You'll notice that the title of this article is "Beginner Weight Loss and Build Muscle Workout Routine". Some of you might ask... "What if I only want to lose weight?" or "What if I don't want to lose weight? I want to get bigger?". The answer to both those questions is one in the same and it's that they go hand in hand.
For those of you who want to lose weight, you can only do so by maintaining a good diet and increasing the amount of muscle tissue your body has. And for those of you who want to build muscle and get bigger, you will naturally burn fat by doing so. With that said...
Tip #1: Focus on building muscle.
Each day you will be performing 6 different exercises. You should perform 3 sets for each exercise and each set should consist of 15 repetitions. Choose a weight that is challenging enough but comfortable so that you don't have to abandon before each set is completed. If you are not familiar with each exercise, I suggest going to youtube and type in the exercise name and the word technique and watch a few videos there. (ie: Squat technique, lateral shoulder raise technique, etc...)
Day 1:
Squat
Deadlift
Flat barbell chest press
Bent over row
Bicep curl
Ab crunch (Using a swiss medicine ball)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Cardio
Day 4:
Leg press
Leg curl
Wide grip lat pulldown
Incline dumbbell chest press
Lateral shoulder raise
Ab knee raise
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Cardio
Day 7:
Single leg lunge (Using a dumbbell for weight)
Seated row
Shoulder shrug (Using dumbbells)
Cable chest fly
Cable rope pull down
Cable ab crunch
Day 8: Rest
Day 9: Cardio
If you can repeat this routine 3 times for a total of 27 days you should already be seeing great results. This routine is very similar to the one I used when I was first starting out except this one is better because now I have years of experience working out and training people.
If you have any questions feel free to post a comment and I will get back to you.
First, before getting started, a little bit of theory. You'll notice that the title of this article is "Beginner Weight Loss and Build Muscle Workout Routine". Some of you might ask... "What if I only want to lose weight?" or "What if I don't want to lose weight? I want to get bigger?". The answer to both those questions is one in the same and it's that they go hand in hand.
For those of you who want to lose weight, you can only do so by maintaining a good diet and increasing the amount of muscle tissue your body has. And for those of you who want to build muscle and get bigger, you will naturally burn fat by doing so. With that said...
Tip #1: Focus on building muscle.
- If you focus on weight loss too much you will more likely not eat enough. But in order to gain muscle... you need to eat properly. And by increasing your muscle mass, you naturally burn more calories and burn more fat.
- Often times at the gym I see people who are just beginning to train and they focus on the wrong muscle groups. They work their triceps, their biceps, their calves, etc. But I rarely see them target the real muscles. The ones that get big and that burn the most fat. The muscles you should always target first are your chest, your back and your legs. They contain the most muscle tissue so they are easiest to grow at first and will give you that immediate gain and increase in weight loss.
- You want all the different aspect of your training to be equally intense. By doing cardio training and resistance training in the same session, you will get diminishing results in both. My recommendation is to do resistance training 3-5 times per week and on your "off days" do cardio training. Or if you have sufficient time to go to the gym twice a day, do cardio in 1 session and weights in the other. But if you do this make sure there are more than a few hours between each session and make sure that you eat at least 1 meal between both sessions.
- This tip is pretty simple but is ignored by so many. If you want to increase your stamina (increase respiratory and circulatory capacity) then high intensity cardio is what you will want to be doing. Walk or run as fast as you can for as long as you can until your heart wants to jump out of you and your lungs are gasping for air. BUT, if your aim is to burn fat, keep the intensity to a comfortable pace. The rule of thumb is this... If you are out of breath, you are not burning fat. Because your body needs a lot of oxygen to turn your fat into usable energy.
- When lifting weights always lift as heavy as you can while keeping proper form. You will get the best results if you keep perfect form and lift heavy weights. Lifting too heavy with bad form will not give you better results and might actually injure you. And lifting too light will also not give you good results. If you are not sure how good your form is you should ask someone to spot you. Most people in gyms won't have a problem spotting you for 1 set if you ask nicely. Then after you are done your set ask for feedback on your form.
Each day you will be performing 6 different exercises. You should perform 3 sets for each exercise and each set should consist of 15 repetitions. Choose a weight that is challenging enough but comfortable so that you don't have to abandon before each set is completed. If you are not familiar with each exercise, I suggest going to youtube and type in the exercise name and the word technique and watch a few videos there. (ie: Squat technique, lateral shoulder raise technique, etc...)
Day 1:
Squat
Deadlift
Flat barbell chest press
Bent over row
Bicep curl
Ab crunch (Using a swiss medicine ball)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Cardio
Day 4:
Leg press
Leg curl
Wide grip lat pulldown
Incline dumbbell chest press
Lateral shoulder raise
Ab knee raise
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Cardio
Day 7:
Single leg lunge (Using a dumbbell for weight)
Seated row
Shoulder shrug (Using dumbbells)
Cable chest fly
Cable rope pull down
Cable ab crunch
Day 8: Rest
Day 9: Cardio
If you can repeat this routine 3 times for a total of 27 days you should already be seeing great results. This routine is very similar to the one I used when I was first starting out except this one is better because now I have years of experience working out and training people.
If you have any questions feel free to post a comment and I will get back to you.
There's only 8 days left until the Yoga Conference 2010 in Toronto.
I will be there and so will thousands of fitness fanatics. The floor will be filled with all the top teachers of all the different disciplines. Also all the major schools will be represented.
It's going on March 25 to 28 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Entry to the show is 15$. For the conference it depends which classes you attend.
Check out their website here: http://www.theyogaconference.com/
I will be there and so will thousands of fitness fanatics. The floor will be filled with all the top teachers of all the different disciplines. Also all the major schools will be represented.
It's going on March 25 to 28 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Entry to the show is 15$. For the conference it depends which classes you attend.
Check out their website here: http://www.theyogaconference.com/
The great start to any makeover is always found in the fridge and pantry. That is... whether you are only in it to lose a few pounds or you're in it for a life long journey to a rock hard body it all starts with dieting. But how to choose a diet is a tough thing for anyone.
Weight Watchers, South Beach, Atkins, The Zone, Nutrisystem... which one is best and how do you follow it? And what about supplements? Acai, Green Tea, Fat burners... do they work?
There is a pretty cool site called FreeDietTips.com that you should check out if you are just starting your research. It can help you learn and understand each diet as well as help you choose which one is best for you. It also has a lot of information on how you can follow each diet as well as helpful tips to help on your way.
http://www.freediettips.com - Check it out!
Weight Watchers, South Beach, Atkins, The Zone, Nutrisystem... which one is best and how do you follow it? And what about supplements? Acai, Green Tea, Fat burners... do they work?
There is a pretty cool site called FreeDietTips.com that you should check out if you are just starting your research. It can help you learn and understand each diet as well as help you choose which one is best for you. It also has a lot of information on how you can follow each diet as well as helpful tips to help on your way.
http://www.freediettips.com - Check it out!
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