Is it more difficult to climb hills on a recumbent bike than a conventional bike?
April 29, 2009 by Weight Loss Exercise Programs
Filed under More Exercise Answers
Can you answer AVA’s question about Exercise?:
I am not a physicist but there must be some scientific explanation about the hill climbing characteristics of a recumbent bike vs. a conventional bike. From my belief about leverage, a conventional bike would be much superior to a recumbent.
Home Gym Exercise Equipment
I am not a physicist but there must be some scientific explanation about the hill climbing characteristics of a recumbent bike vs. a conventional bike. From my belief about leverage, a conventional bike would be much superior to a recumbent.
Home Gym Exercise Equipment
Weight Training for Women
April 29, 2009 by Weight Loss Exercise Programs
Filed under Weight Training
The benefits of lifting weights — also called weight training, strength training or resistance training — include stronger muscles, a stronger heart, a much leaner physique, a longer life, and a body better able to support your everyday needs and activities. Women, however, still tend to shy away from this beneficial form of exercise.
Ladies, does the mere idea of weightlifting scare you?
“I don’t want to lift weights because they’ll make me too big and bulky.” For how many of you is this the reason you’ve never attempted weight training?
It seems to be many a man’s dream to have big, bulky muscles. Why is it then, that men, whose bodies naturally contain much greater amounts of testosterone and growth hormone, lift weights yet DON’T get big and bulky?
It’s true! Unless they are supplementing with dangerous and unhealthful steroids or similar substances, most men do not naturally bulk up hugely by lifting weights regularly. And neither will most women.
The idea that women get big, ugly muscles from weight training is a complete misconception.
The fact of the matter is that women must lift weights in order to achieve the lean, sculpted bodies they dream of having. If a woman does happen to have the genetic disposition to bulk up quickly, there are easy ways to alter a workout to prevent this extra muscle size, while still increasing strength and rapidly burning fat.
The idea that weightlifting causes insanely huge muscle buildup is largely a creation of the media. It’s true that some women weightlifters takes steroids, and these hormones do make them look very masculine. The average woman who weight trains, however, will simply achieve a slim, healthy body without adding unwanted muscle mass.
Let’s start by discussing the basics of weight training…
Weight training involves controlled lifting and working out with weights. Two basic terms related to weightlifting are “rep” and “set.” A rep describes the complete act of raising and lowering a weight during a single act of exercise. A set describes the number of times a particular rep is performed.
For example, when a person does five reps of a squat, they squat down and stand up five times, continuously, before stopping and either moving on to another exercise or finishing their workout. Those five squats would equal one set. A balanced weight-training session will include several sets of different exercises.
Your goal as either a beginner, intermediate, or advanced weight lifter should be to exhaust your muscles in the shortest time frame – that simply means that when you lift a weight, you should lift a heavy enough weight to exhaust your muscles doing only 10 – 15 reps.
And you should do this exercising pattern about 3 days each week – with at least 24 hour of rest after each workout.
Now I’m going to share a principle exercise with you that many commercial fitness “buff’s” will hate me telling you because this single exercise will do more for your body than almost any other exercise around – making it completely unnecessary for you to ever buy another exercise gadget from late night television ever again.
Before I share it with you I’ve got to give you a quick disclaimer…this exercise should be done (at least initially) under the supervision of a qualified personal trainer, so that you learn the proper form to use during the movement.
This exercise will work EVERY muscle in your body, and you can do it in the privacy of your own home, without any fancy machines or expensive video’s.
In fact, this exercise a foundational core exercise and it’ll set your internal furnace up to burn more calories throughout the rest of the day than any other exercise we’ve tested (when done properly).
It’s called the dead-lift and here’s how it’s done for maximum fat loss and body shaping…
STARTING POSITION
Stand with feet flat and placed slightly farther apart than shoulder width with toes pointed slightly outward.
Squat down with hips lower than shoulders and grasp the weight lifting bar (or any small object)…in the beginning I highly suggest that you use very little added weight, so when you bend to grasp something, use a book or something else that’s small and light weight – just to help you balance.
Place hands on bar (or whatever you choose to lift) slightly less than shoulder width apart, inside the knees and with elbows fully extended. Place bar roughly 1 inch in front of shins and over balls of feet.
UPWARD MOVEMENT
Lift bar off floor by extending hips and knees.
Maintain an erect and flat back at all times.
Keep elbows fully extended.
Keep bar as close to shins as possible without hitting or scraping.
When bar passes knees move the hips forward.
Keep body erect at point of full knee and hip extension.
DOWNWARD MOVEMENT
Allow the hips and knees to flex to slowly lower the bar to the floor.
Repeat movement until finished with set.
Now this might sound a bit confusing the first several times you read it – however, once you practice it for a day or 2, the movement will become second nature to you and you’ll begin feeling and seeing the results quickly.
Remember that with any new exercise comes a bit of soreness, so start very slowly, and gradually increase your intensity.
Ladies, I encourage you: Let go of your preconceived ideas about weight training. Do not fear it. Embrace your weightlifting potential! You will benefit so much more from it than from spending hours on that piece of cardio equipment alone.
Thanks to Christopher Guerriero for contributing this article to our Exercise blog:
Ladies, does the mere idea of weightlifting scare you?
“I don’t want to lift weights because they’ll make me too big and bulky.” For how many of you is this the reason you’ve never attempted weight training?
It seems to be many a man’s dream to have big, bulky muscles. Why is it then, that men, whose bodies naturally contain much greater amounts of testosterone and growth hormone, lift weights yet DON’T get big and bulky?
It’s true! Unless they are supplementing with dangerous and unhealthful steroids or similar substances, most men do not naturally bulk up hugely by lifting weights regularly. And neither will most women.
The idea that women get big, ugly muscles from weight training is a complete misconception.
The fact of the matter is that women must lift weights in order to achieve the lean, sculpted bodies they dream of having. If a woman does happen to have the genetic disposition to bulk up quickly, there are easy ways to alter a workout to prevent this extra muscle size, while still increasing strength and rapidly burning fat.
The idea that weightlifting causes insanely huge muscle buildup is largely a creation of the media. It’s true that some women weightlifters takes steroids, and these hormones do make them look very masculine. The average woman who weight trains, however, will simply achieve a slim, healthy body without adding unwanted muscle mass.
Let’s start by discussing the basics of weight training…
Weight training involves controlled lifting and working out with weights. Two basic terms related to weightlifting are “rep” and “set.” A rep describes the complete act of raising and lowering a weight during a single act of exercise. A set describes the number of times a particular rep is performed.
For example, when a person does five reps of a squat, they squat down and stand up five times, continuously, before stopping and either moving on to another exercise or finishing their workout. Those five squats would equal one set. A balanced weight-training session will include several sets of different exercises.
Your goal as either a beginner, intermediate, or advanced weight lifter should be to exhaust your muscles in the shortest time frame – that simply means that when you lift a weight, you should lift a heavy enough weight to exhaust your muscles doing only 10 – 15 reps.
And you should do this exercising pattern about 3 days each week – with at least 24 hour of rest after each workout.
Now I’m going to share a principle exercise with you that many commercial fitness “buff’s” will hate me telling you because this single exercise will do more for your body than almost any other exercise around – making it completely unnecessary for you to ever buy another exercise gadget from late night television ever again.
Before I share it with you I’ve got to give you a quick disclaimer…this exercise should be done (at least initially) under the supervision of a qualified personal trainer, so that you learn the proper form to use during the movement.
This exercise will work EVERY muscle in your body, and you can do it in the privacy of your own home, without any fancy machines or expensive video’s.
In fact, this exercise a foundational core exercise and it’ll set your internal furnace up to burn more calories throughout the rest of the day than any other exercise we’ve tested (when done properly).
It’s called the dead-lift and here’s how it’s done for maximum fat loss and body shaping…
STARTING POSITION
Stand with feet flat and placed slightly farther apart than shoulder width with toes pointed slightly outward.
Squat down with hips lower than shoulders and grasp the weight lifting bar (or any small object)…in the beginning I highly suggest that you use very little added weight, so when you bend to grasp something, use a book or something else that’s small and light weight – just to help you balance.
Place hands on bar (or whatever you choose to lift) slightly less than shoulder width apart, inside the knees and with elbows fully extended. Place bar roughly 1 inch in front of shins and over balls of feet.
UPWARD MOVEMENT
Lift bar off floor by extending hips and knees.
Maintain an erect and flat back at all times.
Keep elbows fully extended.
Keep bar as close to shins as possible without hitting or scraping.
When bar passes knees move the hips forward.
Keep body erect at point of full knee and hip extension.
DOWNWARD MOVEMENT
Allow the hips and knees to flex to slowly lower the bar to the floor.
Repeat movement until finished with set.
Now this might sound a bit confusing the first several times you read it – however, once you practice it for a day or 2, the movement will become second nature to you and you’ll begin feeling and seeing the results quickly.
Remember that with any new exercise comes a bit of soreness, so start very slowly, and gradually increase your intensity.
Ladies, I encourage you: Let go of your preconceived ideas about weight training. Do not fear it. Embrace your weightlifting potential! You will benefit so much more from it than from spending hours on that piece of cardio equipment alone.
Thanks to Christopher Guerriero for contributing this article to our Exercise blog:
Christopher Guerriero is the founder of the National Metabolic & Longevity Research Center and a best-selling author, speaker, and coach to millions. He is creator of the award-winning ’Maximize Your Metabolism’ system. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for FREE how-to articles and FREE teleseminars, visit: Maximize Your Metabolism.
Strength Training Versus Aerobics - What is the Difference?
April 27, 2009 by Weight Loss Exercise Programs
Filed under About Exercise
If you are looking for a total body workout, you want to combine strength training and aerobics. These are two very different types of exercise but the work together to turn your body into a finely tuned machine. Weight training will tone your muscles, making you stronger while aerobics will make your heart and lungs stronger, giving you more stamina while burning the fat. These two disciplines of exercise work best when you combine them with a sensible, sound nutritional plan. When you combine good nutrition, strength training and aerobics you can get the body you have always wanted.
Strength Training
Strength training is typically weight bearing exercise or resistance training. It does just what the title suggests, it builds strength. Weight lifting and exercise machines are examples of strength training devices. However, pilates and yoga can also be methods of strength training. You don’t necessarily have to hold free weights to use a machine to strength train. You can use the weight of your own body to provide resistance and increase your strength.
It is a good practice to strength train one set of muscles (such as the upper body) one day and another set (such as the lower body) the next. Most muscle groups need time to rest and recover after exercise. So while you can work out every day, you should work out different muscle groups each day to give worked muscles time to rest and repair. This will give you optimal results.
Aerobics
Aerobics is a cardio exercise that gets your heart rate up and keeps it up. This can be anything from walking to riding a bike. You can run on a treadmill or take an aerobics class. If it gets your heart rate up, it is an aerobic activity. You generally move a lot during aerobic exercise.
You can do aerobic exercises every day because they do not focus on specific muscle groups. Where strength training makes you strong, aerobics makes you lean. It also strengthens your heart and respiratory system, giving you increased stamina. With regular aerobic exercise, you will find that you can run faster and longer as well as perform better.
Interval Training
Interval training is a combination of weight training and aerobics and is attributed to effective weight loss and conditioning. During interval training, you do your regular weight training, but intersperse with brief spurts of aerobic exercise. For instance, you do a set of curls, then walk on the treadmill for five minutes. Next, you do a bench press and then ride a bike for seven minutes. In short, you do an aerobic activity such as jumping rope, walking on the treadmill, running or riding a bike for short bursts in between each set of weights or nautilis machines.
Interval training is very popular among athletes because it builds stamina and strength. With people who want to lose weight, it can bring about fantastic results. Interval training utilizes the best results of strength training and aerobics.
What is a Total Body Workout?
A total body workout involves both strength training and aerobic exercise so that your entire body is worked. You get the benefits of being stronger as well as having enhanced endurance. A typical total body workout consists of working one muscle group (such as the upper body) for thirty minutes or so a day three times a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then the other muscle group (such as the lower body) for thirty minutes or so three times a week - Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Aerobic activity is practices every day for about thirty minutes. Some workouts differ in times, some go longer and some are shorter, but that is the basic total body workout.
Nutrition
If you are working your body with strength training and aerobics, you need to have the proper nutrition to fuel your body so that is can perform at an optimum level. You should eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean meats. You need a lot of protein to fuel your muscles, muscle growth and loss of fat. The various fruits and vegetables give you the vitamins and minerals that you need. Whole grains like brown rice and quinoa also offer protein, fiber and minerals. If you are training intensively you may find that you need nutritional supplements. This is very common for people who train vigorously.
There are specific differences between strength training and aerobics. Actually, these two types of exercise work together to form a total body workout. When you combine the two you will find that you body is stronger, leaner and have better stamina. If you want to tune your body to an optimal level, strength training and aerobic activity are the way to accomplish it.
Thanks to Ronald Godlewski for contributing this article to our Exercise blog:
Strength Training
Strength training is typically weight bearing exercise or resistance training. It does just what the title suggests, it builds strength. Weight lifting and exercise machines are examples of strength training devices. However, pilates and yoga can also be methods of strength training. You don’t necessarily have to hold free weights to use a machine to strength train. You can use the weight of your own body to provide resistance and increase your strength.
It is a good practice to strength train one set of muscles (such as the upper body) one day and another set (such as the lower body) the next. Most muscle groups need time to rest and recover after exercise. So while you can work out every day, you should work out different muscle groups each day to give worked muscles time to rest and repair. This will give you optimal results.
Aerobics
Aerobics is a cardio exercise that gets your heart rate up and keeps it up. This can be anything from walking to riding a bike. You can run on a treadmill or take an aerobics class. If it gets your heart rate up, it is an aerobic activity. You generally move a lot during aerobic exercise.
You can do aerobic exercises every day because they do not focus on specific muscle groups. Where strength training makes you strong, aerobics makes you lean. It also strengthens your heart and respiratory system, giving you increased stamina. With regular aerobic exercise, you will find that you can run faster and longer as well as perform better.
Interval Training
Interval training is a combination of weight training and aerobics and is attributed to effective weight loss and conditioning. During interval training, you do your regular weight training, but intersperse with brief spurts of aerobic exercise. For instance, you do a set of curls, then walk on the treadmill for five minutes. Next, you do a bench press and then ride a bike for seven minutes. In short, you do an aerobic activity such as jumping rope, walking on the treadmill, running or riding a bike for short bursts in between each set of weights or nautilis machines.
Interval training is very popular among athletes because it builds stamina and strength. With people who want to lose weight, it can bring about fantastic results. Interval training utilizes the best results of strength training and aerobics.
What is a Total Body Workout?
A total body workout involves both strength training and aerobic exercise so that your entire body is worked. You get the benefits of being stronger as well as having enhanced endurance. A typical total body workout consists of working one muscle group (such as the upper body) for thirty minutes or so a day three times a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then the other muscle group (such as the lower body) for thirty minutes or so three times a week - Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Aerobic activity is practices every day for about thirty minutes. Some workouts differ in times, some go longer and some are shorter, but that is the basic total body workout.
Nutrition
If you are working your body with strength training and aerobics, you need to have the proper nutrition to fuel your body so that is can perform at an optimum level. You should eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean meats. You need a lot of protein to fuel your muscles, muscle growth and loss of fat. The various fruits and vegetables give you the vitamins and minerals that you need. Whole grains like brown rice and quinoa also offer protein, fiber and minerals. If you are training intensively you may find that you need nutritional supplements. This is very common for people who train vigorously.
There are specific differences between strength training and aerobics. Actually, these two types of exercise work together to form a total body workout. When you combine the two you will find that you body is stronger, leaner and have better stamina. If you want to tune your body to an optimal level, strength training and aerobic activity are the way to accomplish it.
Thanks to Ronald Godlewski for contributing this article to our Exercise blog:
Ron Godlewski has written many articles on health, wellness, and maintaining vitality as we manage our weight through lifestyle diets. You can read more about the importance of nutrition while strength training or doing aerobics in his articles library, and even receive your own complementary quart of a leading nutritional supplement.
How effective is weight training when trying to lose weight?
April 27, 2009 by Weight Loss Exercise Programs
Filed under Weight Training
Can you answer amidreamin’s question about Exercise?:
I do a lot of cardio and fit in pilates or body scuplt class about 3 times a week. How effective is this to lose weight if i want to build some type of muscle to help speed up my metabolism? Should I also incorporate basic weight training to this plan to lose more weight or stick with pilates and body scuplt?
Lower Back Pain Exercises
I do a lot of cardio and fit in pilates or body scuplt class about 3 times a week. How effective is this to lose weight if i want to build some type of muscle to help speed up my metabolism? Should I also incorporate basic weight training to this plan to lose more weight or stick with pilates and body scuplt?
Lower Back Pain Exercises
What’s the safest home exercise equipment when you have very young children in the house?
April 26, 2009 by Weight Loss Exercise Programs
Filed under More Exercise Answers
Can you answer Dave of the Hill People’s question about Exercise?:
When one has young children (under the age of three), one obviously ends up spending a good deal of time at home & it’s difficult to get to the gym. However, most treadmills and exercise bikes have moving parts that are dangerous for small, curious toddlers. Is there home exercise equipment out there that is child-safe, or ways to better child-proof home exercise equipment you already have?
Making Money Online
When one has young children (under the age of three), one obviously ends up spending a good deal of time at home & it’s difficult to get to the gym. However, most treadmills and exercise bikes have moving parts that are dangerous for small, curious toddlers. Is there home exercise equipment out there that is child-safe, or ways to better child-proof home exercise equipment you already have?
Making Money Online
