Monday 29 December 2008

New Year - A New You

So the new year is looming and 2009 looks to be an interesting one. With the bite of the economic meltdown it will be interesting to see how many people will follow their new years resolution and join a gym for a month or so before 90% of these people quit.

For those 10% of you who are looking to join the rank and file of us that frequent the gym regularly, WELCOME!!!

Now I am sure many of us have thoughts on what we want to achieve physically in the new year....mine is to bulk up more as I have shed a few pounds of muscle through my last 12 week cycle. Some of you may wish to lose fat, while others may wish to bulk up with muscle like myself.

Setting Goals

What you need to do to achieve your goal is set milestones to attain them. Say you wish to add 40 kilograms to your bench press then why not split this down in to manageable chunks. An example would be to set 4 stages where you congratulate yourself by adding 10kg, then 20, then 30 before hitting your goal of 40 kilograms. If you do this then it will keep you motivated as you are still hitting your smaller targets rather than trying forever to hit your main goal.

This process will work with any goal whether it be burning fat or packing on the muscle.

Now I hope you will all keep coming back as I post more about nutrition, workouts, exercises and much more in 2009. Hopefully some of the information I post is useful and will help you achieve your new years resolution to be trim and muscular!

Friday 26 December 2008

Killer Home Leg Workout

Now we move to the killer home leg workout. This routine starts with no weight required at all and builds to the requirement of dumbbells, a step and a bench or chair will be required.

Legs are missed alot in training so when it comes to a home workout a killer home leg workout is very important.

We will complete three exercises at four sets each with twelve repetitions.

Exercise One

Bulgarian Split Squat

Find a bench or chair that is roughly knee height, Stand just short of your leg length in front of the bench and place the top of one foot on the bench. Keeping your body upright lower your body by bending at the knee of the leg that is not on the bench until it is at a ninety degree angle then using your leg muscles lift your body to return to your starting position then repeat.



Exercise Two

Squat

Keep your legs shoulder width apart. Bend your legs at the knee and hips so you lower your body towards the ground while keeping your torso relatively upright and your back straight, once you have lowered to a reasonable level reverse the movement you have made to return to a standing position keeping the back straight



Exercise Three

Calf Raises

Stand on the bottom step of your staircase or on a yellow pages book. Raise your heels as high as possible and you will feel your calf muscles tighten as they take the brunt of the weight then slowly move your feet back down as far as they can go, then repeat. Take one second to raise your heels but three seconds to lower your heels.

Wednesday 24 December 2008

Calisthenics

Calisthenics may be something that you have never heard of, well its actually a form of exercise used to increase strength and flexibility in the body. Originating in Ancient Greese the word Calisthenics is derived from the Greek words kalos, 'beautiful' and sthénos, 'strength'.

Carrying out calisthenics is very easy as all exercises are carried out without weights or equipment. Generally you will use your own body weight in many simple movements to increase strength and flexibility.

The primary exercises performed in calisthenics, most of which you will already be familiar with are: Situps, crunches, Pushups (pressups), pullups, squats, calf raises and dips. All of these exercises can be carried out without equipment or just simply using what is found around the home such as a chair for the dips or the bottom step of the staircase for calf raises.

Surprising to many but gymnastics is a form of calisthenics as all movements involve using your strength to hold your body in different positions.

If used correctly in a workout Calisthenics can really improve strength and flexibility, if you dont own any dumbbells or a barbell at home then using calisthenics is a great way to stay in shape and keep flexibility. It must be said that calisthenics will not see you grow huge in size as it is limited because of your weight.

Saturday 20 December 2008

Workout Supersets

Hitting a plateau in your muscle building? Then why not incoorporate super sets into your workout to shock your muscles into action!

Supersets - What are they

Supersets are two or more sets of different exercises completed one after the other without rest. Some only carry out supersets on opposing muscles such as the triceps and biceps while others use supersets as a way of really attacking one muscle group like the chest.

Benefits of Supersets

Supersets increase the intensity of your workout and reduce the time of your workout. You have to remember, more intensity in shorter time equals harder worked muscles that build in strength and size.

Types of supersets

There are three different types of supersets a person can carry out, these all perform two or more exercises in succession but are done so training different muscle groups in different ways.

Same muscle group

This type of superset is using two exercises that train the same muscle group such as dummbell bench press followed by dumbbell flys.

Antagonistic muscle groups

This type of superset is using two or more exercises that train opposing muscle groups such as the barbell curls (Biceps) and Triceps extensions (Triceps).

Staggered sets

This type of superset combines the use of a large muscle group such as the chest with a minor muscle group such as abs. This means you complete two exercises in succession such as bench press then crunches to speed up your workout.

Sunday 14 December 2008

Killer Home Chest Workout

Many people dont have the luxury of being able to afford a gym so I will be concentrating on the home workouts over the next few weeks ready for those who want to get in shape as their new years resolution.

This killer home chest workout will require a floor and a set of dumbbells, nothing more. Dumbbells can be picked up very cheap from local stores like Walmart in the US or Argos in the UK.

Okay so the idea behind this killer home chest workout is that you will not stop between sets, these are called supersets.

Exercise One

Pressups

Keeping your hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart and with strict form slowly bring yourself down to the floor and bring yourself back up again to your starting position for fifteen reps.

Video for form below



Exercise Two

Dumbbell Flies

Take your dumbbells and lie on your back flat on the floor with your arms out to your side and hand palm up holding the dummbells. Bring the dumbbells up in front of your body keeping your arms straight so they are directly above you and then return to your starting position. Complete 15 reps.

Video for form below



Exercise Three

Dumbell Press

Stay lying on your back and with dumbbells in hand move your arms in to the dumbbell press position and push them in front of you. Many people expect a bench to be required for the dumbbell press but the truth is that this can be done without any bench.

Video for form below



Summary

If you complete these three without rest for one set each, then rest for a minute and start again completing 4 sets of each in total. You will start to feel tired after the first set and wont need much weight on your dumbbells.

This is one killer home chest workout that will really improve your chest strength and size.

Sunday 7 December 2008

Tribulus Terrestris

Tribulus Terrestris is a plant that is seen as herbal and helps increase performance when weight lifting.

For centuries Tribulus has been used as a herbal remedy by the Chinese and Indians, the reason for its use is because of its medicinal qualities in the production of the luteinizing hormaone (LH).

In the last fifteen years the weight lifters in Eastern Europe woke up to the amazing properties of Tribulus as it improved their performance for the Olympics.

So what does Tribulus Terrestris do exactly?

The active compounds in tribulus are called steroidal saponins, these lead to the production of the luteinizing hormaone (LH), with the increased levels of the luteinizing hormaone (LH) the body automatically starts increasing the production of testosterone.

Increased levels of testosterone improve energy levels both mentally and physically dramatically giving added strength and...increased labido in the bedroom!

Saturday 6 December 2008

Musclepowershop Disclaimer

With any form of exercise it is important to perform all exercises correctly to reduce the possibility of injury. Weight training has been proven to be one of the safest sports with fewer injuries sustained through weight lifting than through other sports such as football.

Taking this into account it is important to seek the advice of a qualified medical practitioner before embarking on any exercise regime. I accept no liability for injury or illness sustained through the information held within this lens.

Your exercise program is entered into entirely at your own risk.

Power Clean Exercise

The power clean is a training exercise used by Olympic lifters to aid the improvement of their competing lifts the snatch and clean and jerk.

The power clean is a great strength increasing exercise that is a compound movement using many joints in the movement and working many muscles throughout the body.

Power Clean

Equipment - Barbell of desired weight

Preparation - Hold the barbell with an overhand (pronated) grip while its on the floor, ensure your back is straight and your looking forward while bending slightly holding on to the bar.

Movement - Push with your legs and lift the bar towards your chest, half way the movement will cause the emphasis to move from the legs to the lower back to complete the movement.

By the time the movement is finished the bar will be resting across the clavicles at the front of your body.

Note - Remember to start with an empty bar and build weight gradually to ensure you have correct form and do not try to lift heavier than you can.

Reps/Sets 8 to 12 reps for 4 sets

Power Clean