The Effects of Exercise on Cancerous Tumors, Cancer Patients and Cancer Survivors

There is convincing evidence that regular exercise reduces the risk of several major cancers. Research has shown that many major cancers are caused, at least in part, to a lack of sufficient physical activity. 

However, the medical community is still relatively unclear about whether exercise has a beneficial effect on a cancerous tumor once it starts to develop. Preliminary research suggests that exercise may abate the growth of cancerous tumors and possibly prevent their recurrence.         

Can Exercise Slow Down the Growth of Cancerous Tumors?

The answer is not a resounding “yes,” but there is compelling epidemiological data and experimental results  indicating that regular exercise may retard the growth of certain cancers.     

For example, researchers studied the effects of exercise on the development of sarcoma tumors in mice liver. There were five groups of mice in the study, seven mice in each group. The groups consisted of:

A.        Control group of mice
B.         Control group of mice with implanted sarcoma tumor cells
C.         Exercised trained mice whose exercise was terminated after implantation of sarcoma tumor cells
D.         Exercised trained mice who continued exercising for 18 days after implantation of sarcoma tumor cells
E.         Continuously exercised mice who never received sarcoma tumor cells

The exercised mice in Groups C and D had undergone swimming training one hour per day, five days a week for ten weeks before receiving the tumor cells. Groups C and D mice also continued to receive tumor cells after the ten-week training period.    

The size of the tumors in Group D mice, i.e., those exercised-trained mice that continued to exercise after receiving the tumor cells, was 50% smaller compared to the size of the tumors in Group B mice, the control group that did not exercise at all but received only tumor cells. In other words, the data proved that exercise had slowed down the growth of the tumors.  

Interestingly, the exercise that group C performed but did not continue after implantation of tumor cells had some beneficial effects on tumor development, but the difference was not statistically significant. 

The decrease in tumor size was more evident in the group D mice, or those that exercised during cancer development. The exact explanation for this is not yet known. Some researchers believe that the exercise during cancer development somehow altered the angiogenesis of the tumors, caused energy to be utilized differently or altered the immune system.

Whatever the physiological explanation, cancer patients should to talk to their oncologists to find out whether engaging in an exercise program is medically appropriate. Even with respect to mesothelioma, a rare soft tissue sarcoma, exercise may have a palliative effect, as shown by the mice liver study.

How Can Exercise Otherwise Aid in the Treatment of Cancer?

Beside the potentially positive effect that regular exercise has on the growth of cancerous tumors, exercise does much more for the general health and well-being of the cancer patient and the cancer survivor. 

Participation in an exercise program during cancer treatment can alleviate some of the side effects of cancer therapies, such as fatigue and nausea. Exercise has been shown to reduce these side effects in breast and prostate cancer patients by reducing toxicity levels in the body. 

Mental health benefits include reduced stress, increased self-worth and improved quality of life. There is also evidence that exercise diminishes clinical symptoms of depression.  Moreover, with respect to cancer survivors, exercise has been shown to help prevent a relapse of the disease by strengthening the immune system.

Consequently, many oncologists, cancer patients and cancer survivors acknowledge the need to engage in a structured exercise program as part of treatment for mesothelioma and other cancer treatment and prevention regimens. Physicians and patients should work together to design a professionally supervised exercise program that is tailored to the patient’s specific cancer, treatment type and fitness level.  

Further reading below:

http://www.mesothelioma.com/treatment/alternative/personal-fitness-and-training.htm     
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/features/exercise-cancer-patients

No Nonsense Muscle Building

Why do people put so nonsense into muscle building, no nonsense muscle building is the way to building big muscles. Thats right, take the no nonsense muscle building approach and you are on to a winner straight away. By no nonsense muscle building what do we mean? Well put simply it means taking no crap and weight lifting like you are meant too.

If you are wondering what you should do to carry out no nonsense muscle building then follow the next three steps to success.

Step 1)

Ignore all the lads throwing their body’s around and not lifting correctly, you know the guys, the ones who spend ages in front of the mirror and talking like they are world class weightlifters who no more than everyone else. These guys talk nonsense and need to be ignored.

Step 2)

Get a real weight lifting routine and stick to it religiously and carry it out correctly. This means strict form even if you lift less, your muscles with strengthens more quickly and your body will not get injured. The whole point of weight lifting is keeping focussed, not missing sessions and carrying out the sessions correctly.

Step 3)

Eat well and eat right. Dont eat less, you will never get bigger if you don’t feed your muscles, but don’t eat crap either. You need to eat the right foods and a lot of them to build superior muscles. Get an understanding of your body and what it needs then feed it up, eat your greens, eat proteins and the right types of carbs.

Following this no nonsense muscle building approach you will find your muscles will increase in weeks rather than months. I have personally trained with people who have nearly doubled their strength in three months simply by following the above.

Muscle Building for Skinny Guys

Everyone is different and because of a person’s genetic make up some people find it more difficult to bulk up with muscle than others, this is especially noticeable in muscle building for skinny guys.

Skinny guys fit into the Ectomorphic Somatotype; this is being thin and tall with little to no body fat. This generally means that the skinny guy can eat a lot and never puts on weight, a plus many would think...but not when muscle building is the achievement wanted.

Although muscle building for skinny guys is harder to achieve, it is not unachievable if the right routines are followed in exercise and nutrition.

So how do you achieve muscle building for skinny guys?

First rule is not to carry out cardio too much, if at all. While walking and general everyday exercise is fine, jumping on the treadmill or rowing machine is just going to keep eating up those calories and means you wont gain weight.

Second rule is to ensure you get a good strong weightlifting workout following something like the 5x5 workout, but also ensuring you get enough rest between workouts for your body to recouperate.

The final and most important rule is to eat, eat and eat. Muscle building is all about nutrition as well as working out. If you are someone who finds it hard to put on weight when eating how are you going to bulk up muscle without building up your calorific intake. The rule of thumb is to take your weight in pounds (times your kilogram weight by 2.2 to get this figure) and times this by 16 to 18 to achieve your required calorie intake while weight training properly. For a 170 pound male (77 kg male) this means eating between 2720 – 3065 calories a day.

There is no reason that muscle building for skinny guys should be so hard, it simply needs a change in training and nutrition to achieve the required results. As you start to eat more and train hard you should start to see differences in a matter of 12 weeks.

If you are a skinny guy who is muscle building and you follow the information above and gain results please come back and post to give confidence and support to others trying to achieve muscle building for skinny guys.

Weightlifting Vegetarian

Many people think that being a vegetarian is a no, no for weightlifting. The reason for this has nothing to do with going to the gym and busting out the weights and is more to do with the nutritional side of weighlifting.

This is a huge myth and there are many weightlifing vegetarians out there who manage to carry out their lifts and increase muscle mass with ease, this being said a weightlifting vegetarian does have to take more notice of their diet.

While a weightlifting vegetarian doesnt have the meat intake that supports the body's requirements for protein as meat is a huge protein provider, there is ample protein opportunities for non meat eaters. For those that find themselves short of protein from their vegetarian diet there are also supplements too.

A vegetarian who enjoys weightlifting and wishes to bulk up can take whey protein shakes, or if they dont want to have ANY animal products there are now soy protein isolates as a protein option. Alternatively the protein options available to include in their diet are:

• Wholemeal Bread - av. 3.5 grams of protein per slice
• Quinoa - 18 grams of protein per cup
• Beans - one cup is around 13 grams of protein
• Soy products - one large glass of soy milk is 7 grams of protein (there is Tofu and other Soy variants)
• Nuts - Protein amounts vary in nuts but the level of protein is great (you can even use peanut butter)
• Eggs - If you dont mind your eggs then there is ample protein in them

You can also find protein in rice, pasta and other general foods. The only difference between a weightlifting vegetarian and a meat eater is that a vegetarian has to take extra care in reviewing their protein intake to ensure they get enough from their food.

New Year Workout

So you have had an enjoyable festive season, one that has caused the midriff to grow to a somewhat uncomfortable level. While you enjoyed the holidays you now have the problem of achieving your New Year’s resolution to rid the extra weight you put on and a little more to get back to that trim self you wanted.

Well for those of you reading the above the time has come to try the Muscle Power Shop New Year workout, a workout that will really help you trim those pounds and get buff for the beach.

This New Year workout has been created solely for reducing the fat on the body and trimming up those muscles, it is a workout that you will both enjoy and see benefits from.

So what is this New Year Workout?

This workout should be completed three times a week, preferably every other day (example Monday, Wednesday and Friday).

Day 1 – Chest, Triceps and Abs

Barbell Benchpress 4 x 10
Incline dumbbell press 4 x 10
Dumbbell flys 4 x 10
Tricep dips 3 x 10
Skull crushers 3 x 10
Stomach crunches 3 x 30

Day 2 – Back, biceps and cardio

Lat pulldowns 4 x 10
Deadlift 4 x 10
Pull ups 4 x 10 (start with 4 x failure and work up to 10 if you cant do 10 for each set)
Barbell curls 3 x 10
Dumbbell hammer curls 3 x 10

Day 3 – Legs, shoulders and abs

Barbell squat 3 x 10
Lunges 3 x 10
Calf raises 3 x 10
Shoulder press 4 x 10
Dumbbell lateral raise 3 x 10
Dumbbell rear raises 3 x 10
Stomach crunches 3 x 30

If you carry out this New Years workout while also maintaining a healthy diet (this still means eating well, but the right foods) then you are sure to see a difference in weeks rather than months.

Muscle Building Tuna Recipe

One of the problems with bodybuilding and eating correctly is the boredom that can set in with eating the same old foods. In light of this you will find some great muscle building tuna recipes below that will give you a brilliant alternative to the mundane meals you currently endure.

Tuna is one of the best protein food as it is high in protein and low in pretty much everything else so there is no risk of bad fats becoming part of your meal.

Tuna Salad

1 Romaine Lettuce
1 Tin of Tuna
5 Cherry Tomatoes
Small portion of Feta Cheese (low fat variety)
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and pepper
Teaspoon of olive oil

Using a chopping board and knife, cut all your ingredients and add to a bowl. Now take a teaspoon of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and add to the bowl before adding a pinch of salt and pepper. Now toss your salad and serve.

Tuna Mix

1 Tin of Tuna
1 Onion
50 grams Cottage Cheese (low fat)
Potatoe (baked)

Cut your onion into small fine pieces and put in a bowl, now add the drained tin of tuna. Take your low fat cottage cheese and add to the bowl and mix. Now you have a new and interesting tuna mix for your jacket potatoe. This is a low fat and high protein variation of the normal tuna, cheese, onion and mayo version.

Tuna Bake

1 Tin of Tuna
1 Tin of Kidney Beans
1 Carrot
Peas
Tin of naturally sweet sweetcorn
Potatoe
Water
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Cut the potatoe into medium sized cubes and add to a baking tray. Add the tined tuna, sweetcorn and kidney beans to the tray. Now cut your carrot into small chunks before adding the carrot and peas to the tray.

Put a pinch of sat and pepper into the mix and then add 200 ml of water and a tea spoon of olive oil. Use a wooden spoon to mix the food in the tray before baking in the oven at 190 degrees for about an hour.

Weightlifting and High Blood Pressure

For years people have said that exercise improves your blood circulation and also helps with blood pressure, the question has been whether weightlifting fits into this category.

If you have high blood pressure then exercise is a great way of improving this, but while many may take up walking, running or using an exercise bike, can weightlifting be seen as an alternative option?

The answer to this question is yes!

While it is known that when weightlifting you can experience a spike in blood pressure, this is usually a mix of exerting yourself in lifting heavy weights compounded by not breathing correctly during your weightlifting. It is for this reason that previously weightlifting was seen as a no no for people with high blood pressure.

The truth is that the longer term benefits of weightlifting are that resting blood pressure rates are lowered by weightlifting. this gives a great reason to start weightlifting if you have high blood pressure.

If you are reading this thinking "I have high blood pressure and want to give this a go" then there are a couple of things you need to be aware of before embarking on your new weightlifting regime:

• Consult your Doctor and let them give you the green light to train first and foremost
• Practise breathing exercises to ensure you never hold your breath when lifting
• Do not lift heavy weights in a powerlifting style, lift lighter weights and more repetitions as the strain of lifting heavier weights can make your blood pressure rise
• Do not over do it and if your body is telling you that your doing too much then take a rest or stop for the day

Muscle Power Book

The Muscle Power Book is now available to buy at Amazon and is a jam packed book full of everything you need to know to get started and make a huge impact with your training.

The book covers training regimes, exercises, eating correctly, rep ranges and more.

If you are looking for the perfect gym companion then why not try the Muscle Power book, written by the author of this website. For only $8.99 you have the perfect book to follow in the gym and monitor your weight lifting progress.

This is not an ebook you download but is a physical book sent from Amazon direct to your home address, the real deal, a real book.

Click here to buy today from Amazon!

Weightlifting Exercises

Find an extensive list of weightlifting exercises below with links where you can find out all about each exercise.

Legs

Squat Form
Overhead Squat
Bulgarian squat
Calf raises
Leg press
Squat

Biceps

Negative Curls
Biceps 21's
Biceps Curl

Chest

Partial Reps
Flat Bench Press

Back

Pull ups
Good morning
Lat pulldown
Barbell Bent over Row
Supine Row
Deadlift
Shrugs
Pendlay Rows

Upper Body

Crucifix
Power clean
Clean and Press

Shoulders

Arnie press
Rear deltoid
Front raise
Lateral Raise
Shoulder press
Upright Row

Triceps

Skull crushers

Vasiliy Alekseyev

Vasiliy Alekseyev, a Russian born Василий Иванович Алексеев in 1942 is renowned as one of the greatest weightlifters the world has ever produced.

Vasiliy Alekseyev competed in weightlifting for the Soviet Union throughout the 1970's and during his reign as the best weightlifter in the world he set eighty world records for weightlifting.

Alekseyev started weightlifting at the age of 18 at the Trud Voluntary Sports Society, it was during these early years that he soon found that he was physically perfect for the sport.

Competing in the 110+ category of weightlifting during a time where some lifts were still being carried out that are not part of the weightlifting circuit today, Vasiliy Alekseyev was well known for being able to produce awe inspiring feats of strength through the power of his lifts.

Vasiliy was the European Champion every year from 1970 all the way through to (and including) 1978, he was also the World Champion every year from 1970 all the way through to (and including) 1977.

Personal statistics:

Height - 1.86 metres (6 feet 1 inch)
Weight - 161.75 kg (355.85 lbs)

Below are some of Alekseyevs great records:

• Snatch: 190.0 kg in 1977-09-01 on Podolsk;
• Clean and press: 236.5 kg, official world record until 1972;
• Clean and jerk: 256.0 kg in 1977-11-01 on Moscow;
• Total: 645.0 kg (clean and press + snatch + clean and jerk), in 1972-04-15, on Tallinn, official world record until 1972;[6]
• Total: 445.0 kg (snatch + clean and jerk) on Podolsk
  

Build Bigger Forearms

One area of the upper body neglected more than any other is the forearms, everyone builds bigger biceps but what about the area of the arm below the elbow? Not many people remember to train this area.

Taking this into consideration how many of you would love to build bigger forearms? Most of you would so why are you not training your forearms?

There is an easy way to build bigger forearms by simply adding a couple of forearm exercises into your biceps workout.

Build Bigger Forearms

To build bigger forearms the two exercises you need to incorporate in to your biceps workout are wrist curls. Simply carry out supinated and pronated wrist curls at the end of your workout with three sets of twelve reps and your on your way to big bulging forearms.

For wrist curls you dont need a heavy weight, in fact some people will find training with a 10 kg barbell enough to feel the burn in their forearms.

So simply take a barbell and carry out three sets of supinated wrist curls, this means with your palms facing up towards your face, follow this with three sets of pronated wrist curls which means with your palms facing down towards your feet.

Building bigger forearms is an important and integral part of building your strength to support both your biceps and back workouts among other body parts.

What are you waiting for, get started on those forearms today!

5 ways to increase strength

Are you working hard in the gym but hitting the plateau and want a way to increase your strength? Maybe your new to training and want some instant strength gratification for motivation purposes, well now’s your chance with my 10 ways to increase strength.

Tip 1) Warm up before lifting weights

Yes it’s the old cliché that you need to warm up before lifting but it is true. It is so common for people to neglect their warm up and then find their muscles can’t lift very heavy, not to mention the potential for injury. It is very important for strength training and to reduce the possibility of injury to warm up before weightlifting.

Tip 2) Rest

By rest we don’t mean sit in front of the TV like Homer Simpson, no we mean give your body a good three minute rest between sets so your body can regenerate ATP so your muscles have as much energy as possible to lift.

Tip 3) Train your weaknesses

Most people actually neglect their weaknesses and keep to the exercises that make them feel strong, but without training your weaknesses you will not see so many strength gains. Make sure you include one exercise at least per session that works on a weakness in your body, this may be partial reps for the lower part of the benchpress or carrying out that exercise you hate.

Tip 4) Find a stronger partner

It is surprising how having a training partner stronger than yourself can actually help you lift heavier. Its simple mental strength on this one, you don’t want to be the weaker of the two training partners so you motivate yourself mentally to lift heavier and find inspiration from your partner.

Tip 5) Go heavy on 5x5

Take your compound lifts and start lifting with five sets for five reps on the heaviest weight you can manage the full five sets and five reps. This is the typical workout regime for the strong men of the world and will really boost your strength. As soon as you achieve five set for five reps on a weight add another 2.5kg on your next session.

Summary

Follow the simple tips above and you could see an increase in strength in a matter of weeks rather than months. It is the simple changes in training that have the biggest impact.

Training like a Dream

I realised its been over two months since I last posted in my journal so thought it time to give an update of where I am.

I went to the consultant at the end of March, he did want me to have injections in my back for my ruptured disc but I said everything is going well at the moment, in the end we decided that I wont have them now and will only have them if I have issues in the future. The final consultation has meant I am able to train to full effect but not allowed to deadlift or squat.

Since this consultation I have been in Bulgaria for two weeks where I carried out some great training and I have been training hard back in the UK.

My training is actually going very well, I am training like a dream. In fact I have only one issue with my training and that is that the gym weights only go up to 40kg (88lbs) so I am unable to move past this weight on some of my exercises and have had to look at other freeweight exercises to progress.

I went to the gym today and managed a huge back session that is making me feel great, I feel I am moving in the right direction. Currently I am weighing in at between 96kg (211 lbs) and 98kg (215 lbs) and given my next target is 100kg (220 lbs) Im not far off!

Weightlifting Weight Loss

Did you know that weightlifting is an amazing way to support weight loss?

Its true yet not something many people try in their endeavours to lose weight, even though weight lifting is an immense way to not only increase muscle mass but lose weight through fat loss.

When you carry out weight lifting you will start building muscle mass and without realising you will also start to see your fat start to reduce. Contrary to popular belief fat does not turn into muscle, what will happen is that you will expend more calories from weight training than before when you didnt train. You will also see that when your muscle mass increases you will actually expend more energy without even training on a daily basis.

This works because for every extra pound (just under half kilogram) of weight you put on in muscle mass your body will expend an extra sixty calories per day without you even moving! It is for this reason that bigger muscular men can eat all the time while staying lean....well there is a little part of diet in this too.

So if your thinking of losing weight dont just stick to the cardio get involved and start weight lifting too.

Athletic Leg Training

Im sure you have all seen those powerful athletes with huge legs that seem to achieve superior levels of speed, power and agility on the athletics field but how do they achieve this?

Yes I know your going to say train hard but its more than that, its about how they train.

Bodybuilders and other types of weight lifters tend to stick to leg exercises that train both legs in tandem, truth be told your better off training each leg individually.

How to carry out athletic leg training

Take compound exercises that use free weights the modify them so only a single leg is used in the exercise, for example:

Instead of carrying out the squat, use dumbbells and carry out the Bulgarian split squat, its so much more challenging and your legs will tuly benefit.

So what does an athletic leg training session look like?

Bulgarian split squat - 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 15 reps
Single leg deadlift - 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 15 reps
Lunges (holding dumbbells) - 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 15 reps
High step up - 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 15 reps
Calf raises - 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 15 reps

Carry out these exercises in curcuits so your completing the exercises 2 or 3 times per training session. This should not take longer than 45 minutes, as soon as 45 minutes are up stop your training session.

Muscle Balancing Act

We all know the balancing act whereby we have one side of our bodies stronger than the other, this is most evident in the arms due to being right handed or left handed. This is most common among newbies to the gym who have never trained before.

We all know that when we lift the bench press for example there is one side that we find easier to lift than another; it may be that your right side feels it can keep going while the left starts to flounder so how do you combat this imbalance?

My personal preference to combat this issue is by lifting with dumbbells. By taking the same exercises but using dumbbells you are letting each side of the body work independent of the other, this means that one side cannot support the other by taking the brunt of the weight.

Initially you may find the weaker side gives up before your stronger side so you have to stop earlier than you would expect but over time (a short time) the weaker side will improve and catch up with your stronger side. By doing this you will also find when you go back to barbell exercises you will actually be able to lift more!

If you find that you have one side of your body weaker than the other whether its your arms, shoulders or legs why not start isolating the muscles so they work independent and can catch up with the stronger side over time.

Clean and Press

The Clean and press exercise works most muscles in the body in one function or another starting from the calves and quads right up to the deltoids of the shoulders.

This is a big compound lift that used to be part of Olympic weightlifting right up until the early 1970’s.

The Clean and press works in two movements, the first bringing the bar from the floor to chest height and the second pressing the bar over the head. The clean and press can be completed with either dumbbells, kettle bells or a barbell.

I have started carrying out this great exercise as part of my own training session and thoroughly enjoy it. I personally use a barbell.

To add size and strength to your overall physique this is one hell of an exercise.

Clean and Press

Equipment – Dumbbells, Kettle bells or Barbell of desired weight

Preparation - Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and an overhand grip on the equipment of choice keeping your back straight as your bent over the weight.

Movement – Pull the bar up to your chest pushing through your legs in a squat then shrugging motion (always keeping your back straight) then rotate your palms under the bar before pressing above your shoulders.

Remember to never arch your back; it should stay straight throughout the movement. If you arch your back to far (known as hyperextension) you can seriously damage your lower back.

Reps/Sets 1 to 12 reps for 4 sets

Built like a Bear or a Racehorse

Everyone talks about body types such as endomorph, ectomorph or mesomorph but there is a simplier explanation to body types. This simplier explanation means your a bear or a racehorse, yes not quite what you expected I know but hear me out.

If you look at those that train in the gym on a regular basis you will tend to notice that many people do not fit into one of the three specific body types of endomorph, ectomorph or mesomorph. The reason why most people dont fit into one of these types is because many people have charactaristics of a combination of two of these types.

Now forgetting these body types you can see whether someone fits into the simplier explanation of being a bear or a racehorse, but what does this actually mean?

Built like a bear

If your built like a bear it means that you find it very easy to put on muscle and tend to carry a higher fat percentage, the problem is that you are bulky but dont have definition. A bear also suffers with the issue that by trying to cut up by losing fat they also lose alot of muscle in the process.

Bears tend to eat less often than a racehorse yet still put on weight (fat or muscle).

Built like a racehorse

If your built like a racehorse you find it very hard to build muscle mass yet tend to be lean, carry a low fat percentage and is well defined. A racehorse enjoys being well defined but really suffers with trying to pack on the muscle even if they train exactly the same as a bear.

A racehorse is able to eat all the time but not put on weight (fat or muscle).

Summary

Now I know I am a bear, I put on muscle quick while carrying a higher fat percentage but also find it easy to lose my muscle gains if I dont eat enough.

So what are you a bear or a racehorse, do you find it easy to pack on the muscle and fat yet struggle with definition like a bear or are you well defined yet struggle to pile on the pounds in muscle like a racehorse?

Secret to Strength and Size

When it comes to the secret to strength and size there are many articles that profess to tell you exactly what the secret to strength and size is, truth be told its not a huge secret its a simple formula to success.

When it comes to the secret to strength and size the answer to getting huge gains in strength and size all you need to do is follow a few training principles, which are:

• Ensure the three big lifts of the Bench Press, Squat and Deadlift are used every week with one ever training session.
  
• Ensure all training sessions are completed every week with the minimum of three per week.
• Every training session try to increase the amount of weight or reps carried out on all exercises, or just the big lifts.

Now these supposed "Secrets" dont sound like they will make a huge difference but they definatley will. Many people carry out the bench press every week but alot of people neglect the squat and deadlift.

Interestingly the deadlift is probably the best exercise there is as it utilises more muscles than nearly all other exercises so if carried out regularly carrying you will see your strength and mass increase quite quickly. To me the deadlift is the king of all weight lifting exercises.

The squat further supports this by building your leg muscles further giving you overall strength and size with the bench press carried out also.

The idea behind not missing training sessions and using extra weight or reps on every session is to push your muscles so they repair bigger and stronger every time you train.

If your new to training and you follow the secret to strength and size above then you are sure to see a big difference in a matter of 12 to 16 weeks (thats only 3 to 4 months!).

A Moment of Motivation

In the UK there is a hive of activity at the moment as people who dont normally carry out any training are donning their sports clothes to carry out many sports activities. The reason for this is because it is time for Sports Relief, a part of the Comic Relief charity event.

Sports Relief helps raise money to transform the lives of poor and vulnerable people in the United Kingdom and across the world.

Now although this site is mainly about weight lifting I thought it important to talk about one person raising money for Sports Relief in a way that many would not believe.

In the United Kingdom there is a legendary comedian called Eddie Izzard, some may know him from his time in the United States as an actor. Eddie Izzard decided to supports Sports Relief by carrying out a special act to raise money for this great charity.

Eddie decided to really push himself to the limit with this special act and from doing so has become inspirational and motivational for others, so what has he done?

With little training (5 weeks in total) Eddie embarked on running forty three marathons in fifty one days (yes you read right!), this meant Eddie was running a minimum of twenty seven miles a day for six days a week for seven weeks in a row.

Now one marathon is enough even for the most well trained athalete so how did a middle aged comedian with little to no training manage this great feat?

Easy motivation and mind over matter, the supporting documentary about this great feat is an amazing watch and really does show the pain and elation he went through achieving all forty three marathons.

The marathons Eddie ran literally took him around the whole of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland starting in London and finishing in London for a total of 1160 miles ran.

Now if this is not motivation I dont know what is, to me this proves that anyone can achieve their training goals no matter what they are as long as they can put their mind to it with the right motivation and drive.

To find out more about Eddie Izzards run or make a donation to the Sports Relief charity Click Here!

If your interested in watching the documentary of Eddies marathons why not watch them on BBC iPlayer (only available until the end of March 2010)

Episode one
Episode two