Archive for March, 2009

Best Gyms:AB’s Workout

Forget all those hundred’s of ‘crunches’ and sit-ups’ everyday if you want to have great ab’s you must change your ab’s workout.
There are 5 facts you must understand if you are ever going to lose your belly fat and get six pack ab’s.
1. Many so-called “health foods” are actually cleverly disguised junk foods that actually stimulate you to gain more belly fat, yet the diet food marketing industry continues to lie to you so they can maximize their profits.
2. Ab exercises like crunches, sit-ups, and ab machines are the least effective method of getting flat six pack abs.
3. Boring repetitive cardio exercise routines are not the best way to lose body fat and uncover those six pack abs.
4. You don’t need to waste your money on expensive “extreme fat burner” pills (that don’t work) or other bogus supplements. A special class of natural foods is much more effective.
5. Ab belts, ab-rockers, ab-loungers, and other infomercial ab-gimmicks, they’re all a complete waste of your time and money. Despite the misleading infomercials, the perfectly chiseled fitness models in the commercials did not get their perfect body by using that “ab contraption”, they got their perfect body through real workouts and real nutrition strategies.
If you really want the opposite sex to start noticing and complimenting you on your new chiseled body & rock-hard etched-out abs that have started emerging from beneath what used to be pure lard then you have to do something different from the millions of people who spend hours a day sweating it out in gyms with little to show for it. (Except a slimmed down wallet by paying for the monthly gym fee!)
If you change your methods drastically then your body will finally change drastically!
The truth is there is a program by a personal trainer called Mike Geary that will blow away all the myths surrounding the way you exercise. For example the squat is at the top of the heap (along with deadlifts) as one of the most effective overall exercises for stimulating body composition changes (muscle gain and fat loss). This is because exercises like squats and deadlifts use more muscle groups under a heavy load than almost any other weight bearing exercises known to man. Hence, these exercises stimulate the greatest hormonal responses (growth hormone, testosterone, etc.) of all exercises. In fact, university research studies have even proven that inclusion of squats into a training program increases upper body development, in addition to lower body development, even though upper body specific joint movements are not performed during the squat. Whether your goal is gaining muscle mass, losing body fat, building a strong and functional body, or improving athletic performance, the basic squat and deadlifts (and their variations) are the ultimate solution. If you don’t believe me that squats and deadlifts are the basis for a lean and powerful body, then go ahead and join all of the other overweight people pumping away mindlessly for hours on boring cardio equipment. Couple this type of workout with a nutritious diet that not only will have you burning off that stubborn belly fat, but will also have you feeling full of energy every single day. If you don’t already feel energetic and alive every single day, then you are missing out, because it is an awesome feeling!
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1147870

Posted by Best Gyms on March 31st, 2009 No Comments

Best Gyms:Stomach Shaping Workouts - Some Tips

So you’ve made the step to realise you want to get into shape, the next undertaking is to design an overall diet and excercise program that will help you reach your goals. If you are like many people you will need to use an effective stomach shaping workout as a specific part of your excercise ragime. To help you find the right abdominal workout, here are some tips.
Not all workout routines for your abs are not created equal. Some are put together for people who have not excercised for a number of years, some however are designed for those who are regularly excercising and are looking to specifically target the abs. When choosing your routine is it important to start off with something that is challenging, but still within your capabilities. This will help you to know where to begin with abdominal work. Also this approach will be less likely to discourage you early on.
Another thing you should keep in mind is that stomach shaping routines do not have to be complicated. Some of the best ab workouts are simplistic. Don’t assume you have to use complicated equipment in order to get the abs you desire. There are a number of programs that are based on abominal work out tips that are easy to understand and importantly easy to actually do. Going with excercises that make sense to you also mean that you are more likely to complete your workout program.
Many people are shy or insecure about wanting a well defined stomach, they don’t want to be seen at the gym. The hard bodies and experienced looking excercisers at most gyms make them feel self concious and form a barrier to the success we crave. If you find that going to a gym makes you feel like this dont give up! Today, you can get all kinds of simple equipment and workout tools that can be used in the privacy of your own home. There are videos, online support and all kinds of other tools to help you get and stay in shape. Keep in mind that you can use this home workout as a stepping stone to going back to the gym after the gut is gone and your feeling better about yourself.
Last, forget about the price of the workout routine. This doesn’t mean to disregard the cost of anything you stumble across in your quest for a well defined stomach and flatter abs. This means do not let price tags convince you that something is automatically superior. Many effective workout ragimes are very reasonable and do not require you to break the bank in order to buy lots of equipment. Look for programs that fit your budged and will still help you reach your lofty healthy goals. For some great ideas on these types of programs, spend some time checking out the fitness products available online.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1147871

Posted by Best Gyms on March 30th, 2009 No Comments

Best Gyms:Hotel Room Exercises- Get a Weight Loss Program That Doesn’t Require a Gym

As a sales person that has to travel alot, one of the hardest parts of constantly traveling is trying to maintain a regular workout schedule. It seems like everytime I get into a cycle of going to the gym on a regular basis, a long business trip would throw everything off. I would stop going to the gym, and my diet would go out the window (suddenly fast food and greasy meals would sneak back into the picture).
Most hotels offer a small exercise facility, but since my routine was based off of using weights, there was often nothing for me to use. I even joined one of the national gyms that had a lot of locations, thinking that might help me get to the gym more often, but with all days on the road it left little or no time to make it to the gym. What I really needed was a program that I could still use on the road, but didn’t require gym equipment. My goal wasn’t to build muscle or get ripped abs, just to find something that could help me maintain my current weight and muscle tone.
I starting reading up on various workout programs and weight loss routines, but they all seemed to revolve around lengthy workouts that required the use of weights. I started reading up about Mike Geary, who is a nutritionist and personal trainer that was making waves in the fitness community because of his workout book- The Truth About Six Pack Abs. The sales pitch about his book claimed that he could provide a workout that didn’t require weights AND he would provide a nutritional guide to help maintain fat loss (this was exactly what I was looking for).
I am sure that there are other programs like his on the market, but I was really impressed with his approach to nutrition and his suggestions for eating sensible when making food choices. The best part was the workout programs that he crafted, which can be used in or out of the gym. While I won’t be a body builder anytime soon, his program now allows me to get a workout from my hotel room while I am traveling for work. While I had already been utilizing most of the exercises, he put a great spin on them which allows me to get a great workout without using weights or having to locate a gym while on the road.
If you find yourself breaking your workout habits while traveling, whether for business or pleasure, I highly recommend taking a look at Mike Geary’s book- The Truth About Six Pack Abs. Not only will it help with your exercise regiment, but it will also provide nutritional guidelines that you can use to improve your daily diet.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1147924

Posted by Best Gyms on March 29th, 2009 No Comments

Best Gyms:Cheating Yourself On Your Bicep Workouts

Everybody has witnessed the inexperienced people in the gym who stand in the weight section with a full barbell doing bicep barbell curls. Actually, maybe they shouldn’t be called curls; they’re more along the line of massive back heaves. They throw on way more weight then they should be training with, and then cycle through a bunch of funny body movements in an attempt to get the barbell from their waist to their chin.
Cheating can be good sometimes for bodybuilding workouts. The end result of training for bodybuilders is to enhance the muscle area by bringing it as much blood that’s enriched with protein and oxygen as it can. So if incorrect use towards the last couple of reps in a set helps the bodybuilder to flow a greater amount of blood to that area, it’s a beneficial variable. Now that we know it’s good to do, the only issue that remains is figuring out how much this should be used. At what point does the incorrect procedure end in the muscle not being hit, and the workout to train biceps becomes meaningless?
The barbell curl has the greatest amount of effect, and is probably the most used form of training the biceps. In order to do one, you stand with the feet shoulder-width apart while grabbing the barbell with an underhand grip, then you bring the bar out and up in a slow and arc motion. Once the barbell is at the chin, your biceps should be fully flexed, and then keeping them flexed you should lower the bar in a slow motion. During the curl your elbows should not move, and there should be no swinging motion to your back. Only the biceps should handle most of the burden of this exercise.
After several reps of this exercise, the arms can be filled with blood and lactic acid. At this point, you can’t complete any more curls while using the correct form. This is the point of failure. Once you’ve reached failure for the biceps, you can find other results by continuing the exercise, but in a different way. While curling, there is a bump somewhere in the middle on the way up to the chin that is hard to get over, so if you’ve reached failure using the right procedure, complete another few reps using other muscles to sort of swing the barbell to help you past this point. This doesn’t hit the bicep directly, but will help flow more blood to that muscle region.
Cheating should only be done if failure has been reached after using the correct procedure. It’s not as effective for other muscle groups, but it can be a useful tool for helping build more muscle once the failure point is reached.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1148427

Posted by Best Gyms on March 27th, 2009 No Comments

Best Gyms:What are the Benefits of Stomach Shaping Exercises?

I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about the benefits of getting regular exercise to improve your quality of life. We all are in general agreement that exercise is a good thing, but not everyone agrees that all types of exercise are beneficial. Due to this, you may wonder if stomach shaping exercises are really such a good idea. The fact is, they are the key to a productive workout routine. Here is what great ab workouts can do for you.
Different exercises focus on strengthening the various muscle groups all over the body. You will use certain types of exercises to strengthen the legs, others the arms, etc. Abdominal workouts are aimed at accomplishing two things: first, getting rid of that roll of fat around your middle. Second, workout routines for your abs seek to develop the abdominal muscles, so you have a toned appearance that you are not ashamed to show off at the beach. From this perspective, your shaping exercises are good for your self esteem, because you are more confident in your appearance.
But stomach shaping workouts are not just about how you look. They are also about helping your body to function at optimal levels. Did you ever stop to think that your stomach muscles connect several vital parts of your body? It’s true! In fact, the strength of your abs can make a big difference in how much stress is put on your back, thighs and your upper body. Stronger abs mean that any pressure exerted on the body during movement is distributed more evenly and is less likely to overload any other muscle group involved in the action. This means solid abs cuts down on the wear and tear of other muscles throughout your body.
Our muscles are not just about movement and work. They are also about protecting our vital organs. This is just as true for abdominal muscles as any other muscle group in the body. Properly developed abs make a huge difference in how much protection you have for the vital organs that are housed in your abdomen. This makes it less likely that some type of trauma will result in a ruptured spleen or liver. So consider it good medical advice to build up your abdominal muscles, since it will make it more difficult to injure organs and require surgery to correct the problem.
Different types of abdominal work out tips help to aggressively impact various types of benefits that you hope to derive from your stomach shaping routine. Choose your routine wisely, so that you obtain maximum benefits from every move you make during the exercise. And keep in mind you don’t have to pay gym fees and work your routines into the operating hours for a health club. You can obtain a great ad workout plan online if you take a little time to look around. In the long run, you will feel better, look better, and be less susceptible to a number of potential health hazards.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1149017

Posted by Best Gyms on March 26th, 2009 No Comments

Best Gyms:Bodybuilding Training: Bicep Concentration Curls

The biceps are probably one of the more favorite muscle groups to exercise. It is not often that you see a new person in the gym that hasn’t devoted a reasonable amount of time to their biceps. Even though they’re so fun and popular to train, you don’t see too many well-shaped biceps in the gym. You would assume that the muscle group that’s so popular to train would be the one you saw worked out on everyone, but this is far from the truth.
In order to get correctly developed biceps, a full exercise program needs to be made that includes mass, strength, and height. Barbell bicep curls are an excellent way to build mass, and are usually the first bicep exercise bodybuilders go for. Chin-ups are a great way to build strength and size, and are widely used by new and intermediate trainers. To focus on the height and detail of the muscle, bicep concentration curls are ideal, but are also often forgotten about.
In order to do bicep concentration curls, first pick a moderate weight that you can complete 13-15 reps with usually when doing a normal bicep curl. Then bend over with the weight hanging towards the floor. Curl the weight up at a slow pace so you can feel the movement in your muscle fibers. Be sure that the arm is flexed during the entire exercise, but specifically at the point when the weight gets up to your shoulder. Keep in mind that you should be bent over with the dumbbell hanging down for the whole movement.
For a single set, go through about nine reps with one arm and then switch to the other arm to finish the set. When you do the following set, begin with the other arm to ensure that both arms get identical workouts. It’s a possibility that you might have reduced the amount of oxygen reserves for the second set. Bicep concentration curls are usually done with heavier weights. The ultimate goal is to flow blood to the area, but in addition you want give the outer bicep a real workout to add height to the biceps.
For those who have just started bodybuilding, bicep concentration curls should be used in your routine right away. As you have found with other exercises, getting the feel of this movement might require some time. The earlier you start doing them in your routine, the easier they will be now, and in the future. For those who have been bodybuilding for a while, bicep concentration curls should already be part of the workout for training the arms. These are very powerful exercises for increasing the height of your biceps, which is important for scoring points at competitions, and for scoring points at the bars.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1149361

Posted by Best Gyms on March 25th, 2009 No Comments

Best Gyms:Lift Weights Less for Optimal Muscle Training

An important ingredient to optimal muscle training is rest. A simple way to think about it is that your muscles don’t grow in the gym, they grow while your resting and recovering. Too many trainees have the attitude that the more time they spend in the gym the more muscle they will build, and the greater effect their so called optimal muscle training program will have.
Q: Why is spending more time in the gym actually LESS effective?
A: Because in most cases you will actually build less muscle! And the muscle you do build is done so at a very slow rate, due to the fact that you are continually interrupting the recovery process. If your optimal muscle training routine has you continually breaking down your muscles, and wearing down your body’s own recuperative process, then this does very little if nothing for growth to occur. Training hard every day, continually triggering or firing your muscles, but never allowing the muscle building rest they need, and deserve, does not give them the opportunity to recover and build back up. Instead they are again pounded upon the next day (or even the same day for those trainees engaged in the non productive practice of twice daily training) thus interfering with the growth and recovery process, leading to ineffective optimal muscle training.
Q: Then how come a lot of the “big guys” at the gym train every day and are getting results?
A: There are indeed a number of individuals who do well with everyday workouts and find this to be the optimal muscle training for them. These individuals tend to either be young, having just begun their muscle building journey, or they have incredible recovery capabilities, and above average genetics for muscle building, or they are taking performance enhancement drugs to greatly aid in their body’s recovery abilities. These individuals can get away with everyday, frequent workouts, as their optimal muscle training, while packing on the muscle to boot. But for the young trainees, as they build more muscle there tends to come a point where in order to continue their muscle building progress they will need to adapt their optimal muscle training routine by decreasing their workout frequency and allowing for greater recovery time.
Q: So then what is an optimal muscle training routine for a natural trainee with average to poor genetics?
A: An optimal muscle training routine to begin with is a standard 3 day a week regimen. Training each body part once a week, splitting the body three ways. For instance , Monday could be chest, shoulders, and triceps. Wednesday could look like Back and Biceps. And Friday would be Legs, or as us hardcore dungeon lifters refer to, “Dreaded Leg Day”. From this point the trainee can determine his level of recovery ability, while still building muscle. The routine does not overly tax recovery ability and at the same time the muscles are being worked frequently.
Q: Ok, but how do i further dial in my optimal muscle training to figure out the right number of rest days between workouts and avoid overtraining?
A: By monitoring ones lifts through the use of a training log, the trainee can figure out an optimal muscle training routine. The trainee can see his progress and determine whether extra rest days are needed or perhaps more frequent workouts could be tolerated, or the body could be split in a different fashion. If the trainee records the amount of weight he uses for a exercise, then the amount of reps he performs, he can compare those numbers to future workouts. If he is getting stronger, his optimal muscle training is on course. But if he is getting weaker or his numbers remain the same or only are climbing by a rep or two, then he needs to re-adjust his optimal muscle training to better suit his own personal recovery ability, and hence grow stronger in the gym, and grow larger during his rest
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1149685

Posted by Best Gyms on March 24th, 2009 No Comments

Best Gyms:Bodybuilding Training: Front Deltoid Exercises

While dealing with bodybuilding presentation, there are certain muscle areas that you just can’t hide. The front deltoids, also known as the shoulders, are one of these certain areas. You can see them in every pose whether they’re facing forwards or backwards; the front deltoids make up the top two corners of the bodybuilding physique. Having massive front deltoids can make the chest and arms appear much larger, and with good side deltoids can give the figure a very nice V-taper. The following are exercises that will give the deltoids a great work out.
The Machine Press There’s a plethora of exercise machines in the gym from different manufacturers that were made to concentrate on the front deltoid heads, they do this by having the exerciser lift the weight in a particular movement. These machines are popular because they’re very secure and simple. While free weights usually are chosen because stabilizer muscles become part of the workout, it’s never a bad thing to hit the front deltoids by themselves. A lot of people in the gym have huge triceps that are out of proportion to their smaller deltoids; this is because their arms are used for the majority of the work in pressing motions. The use of a machine isolates the deltoids and forces them to do all the work.
The Dumbbell Press This can be done very similarly to the barbell press. The two exercises are very good for the muscle areas because they make each side do the same amount of work. In a lot of situations, one arm will be slightly better developed than the other one, which leads to unbalanced development and a disproportionate physique. The use of the same amount of weight and number of repetitions will make sure that each deltoid gets the exact same work out every time.
The Front Dumbbell Raise This can be a peculiar exercise that a lot of people don’t remember. Stand while holding a dumbbell in both hands. Whether together or separate, lift them up from the waist to the chin while the arms are kept perfectly straight. This exercise is very similar to the well-used dumbbell side raise, except that you lift forward instead of to the side, and it works the front deltoids instead of the side ones.
The Barbell Press You can either stand or sit, with a barbell as high as your neck using an underhand grip, lift up the bar past your head in a slow and controlling movement. The majority of trainers would probably tell you to avoid doing this motion behind the neck because it puts the rotator cuff in an unsettling place. It is much better to place the weight on the front of the upper chest. This exercise will be the most beneficial for developing muscle mass in the front deltoids. The exercise will also target other muscle groups such as the arms, back, and chest.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1150436

Posted by Best Gyms on March 23rd, 2009 No Comments

Best Gyms:Bodybuilding On A Budget

Thanks to the declining value of the dollar, gas prices shooting through the roof, and a bunch of other elements, the cost of food in the United States has increased very considerably in the past couple of years. While there were a lot of people who saw those high prices of food coming from a mile away, many of those people were shocked that the price of supplements had also shot up over the past year. Most providers of whey, including online sellers, have marked the price up nearly fifty percent, and it doesn’t look good for the future. The prices have gone way up for beef, chicken, fresh produce, eggs, and whey, in other words, all of the average bodybuilder’s favorites.
So before you throw in the keys, take a look at the following tips that will help you get through the higher prices, and also a few ways to benefit from these rough times.
Cheaper Gym Memberships If you are having a hard time adjusting to the struggling economy, just think of what gym owners have to get through. Supplements are also at a higher cost to them, the gym equipment is way more expensive to have delivered, and the number of members has probably gone down. For most people, the cost of a gym membership is high on the list of things to cut back on when currency is tight. Go to your gym, or a gym where you’d want to be, and explain that because of rising costs, it’s not in the budget to be a member. In a lot of cases the owner will pull some strings and allow you a membership at a lower cost. This might be due to their costs being fixed, and they would probably want to get less money out of you rather than lose your business.
Working Out In Your Home Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll be aware that gas prices are absolutely ridiculous these days at nearly five dollars per gallon. While many times it’s difficult to get a full chest, back, or leg workout in your home, you can discover that a couple sets of dumbbells are a great and efficient way to train your biceps, triceps, forearms, and shoulders. Any work on your abs, and most cardio exercises can also be completed in house, which saves you money and time. If you can not spend just ten dollars a week by not driving to the gym on select days and working out at home, by the end of the year you’ll have saved nearly $500. This is a great way to save money without giving up too much of your routine.
Buying In Bulk Even though food has become more expensive due to the economy and shortage issues, you can still purchase large amounts of food that you need for relatively cheap. A large sack of rice is still pretty cheap, and will take care of your carb needs for weeks. Tuna is continued as an excellent and affordable protein source. It’s also good to check for unmarked deals where you can, like the butcher who will discount a lot of meat if they need to sell it before it’s not considered fresh, you can purchase a big hunk of meat, and freeze it. Small purchasing decisions could end up saving you a lot of money.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1153528

Posted by Best Gyms on March 22nd, 2009 No Comments

Best Gyms:Accurate 7 Minutes Muscle Review

Before you begin an exercise program a good question to ask yourself is, What is it I am trying to accomplish? Like most people you are probably trying to achieve a dual goal. And that is, to build muscle and to burn fat, hopefully fast. Is it achievable? Are there any great products out there that can help you achieve these goals without compromising your health and emptying your wallet? Those are very valid questions.
Eat a balanced diet. Muscle building requires good nutrition. Eliminate junk food and too many sweets. Focus on high quality sources protein such as meats, fish and dairy. Also consume whole grains, fruits and vegetables. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you intake. Doing so will actually help you burn fat.
Put emphasis on strength training. Cardiovascular exercises are also effective but when you emphasize strength, muscle helps burn fat at a faster rate. 7 Minute Muscle is an ideal program for someone interested in building muscle mass without spending over 7 minutes a day doing it. Don’t forget to balance your 7 Minute Muscle workouts with cardio training as well. A balance in your weekly routine will increase your health.
Don’t do strength and cardio in the same workout session. Do one or the other. When you train for strength do not feel comfort with the weights you are lifting. If you do, that’s a sign that you need to increase the weight amounts. Remember, new muscle volume is built when you push past your comfort zone. When you are doing in between you are simply not giving it your very all. That is a mistake made by many people.
Give 7 Minute Muscle a try and you won’t be disappointed. Its creator is Jon Benson who is well known and the author of Fit Over 40. Once you pay online you’ll immediately receive a package that includes an e-book and 6 bonus videos. The e-book is under 100 pages of easy read and covers body types, muscle growth, fat burning and more. The 6 videos are the how-to tutorials that comprise the 7 Minute Muscle system.
Everything being equal, 7 Minute Muscle has several advantages. It is written by a well known author. It costs much less than a membership at your local gym. You know exactly how each workout is constructed. But most importantly it is for those who want to get results without spending much time doing it. You can build an amazing chest in minutes, you can get great arms in minutes and you can do key movements at home for improving your lower body to get that wow at the beach next summer. To find out more about 7 Minute Muscle. For more information, Click Here.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1151434

Posted by Best Gyms on March 21st, 2009 No Comments