Posts Tagged ‘Weight Training’

Alternating Rest Pause Training: Ensuring Muscle Growth & Strength Gains

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Rest Pause Training

You might presume Rest Pause Training is the way a few guys at the gym take long rests in between their sets of bicep curls, talking with their buddies way more than they should. The reality of rest pause training is far from using your resting time to catch up on the latest bodybuilding gossip. In fact, the Weider’s Principle of Rest Pause Training entails tricking the target muscle into going way beyond failure with a weight that you would generally be able to lift for only a few reps.

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This trickery is a result of both chemical and psychological reactions. The brief rest periods encourage the muscles rapidly recover by permitting them to refill their stock of phosphocreatine, the same molecule that’s excited when you supplement with creatine. Using this additional shot of energy, the muscle can contract with added power, making bigger force and additional reps. Using this strategy, you WILL get increases in strength and size, along with a bigger ego.

Weider’s Principle of Rest Pause Training is generally used in two ways.

You could train for size by repping to failure, resting for 10-15 seconds, then repeating this until repping to failure once again. Doing this 2-3 times per set causes the muscles to contract overtime and forces the chemical alterations within muscle cells that produce growth.

You can also train for strength by using a weight which allows you to accomplish 3-5 reps, then doing one rep, rack the weight and wait 15 seconds, then do another rep. Repeat this until you complete 4-6 reps overall. This is one rest-pause set for strength.

Instead of keeping the spotlight on either size or strength, we have created for you an alternating rest pause training routine that modifies the two workouts to give you the chance to train for both hypertrophy and strength gains. To simplify this for you, lets look at one-arm and one-leg weightlifting exercises.

Utilizing the dumbbell curl as an instance: Pick a weight that your able to use to finish 6-8 reps. Then complete 3 reps with your right arm, do the same with your left arm. Switch arms again for another 3 reps. Endure in this style, doing 3 rest-pause sets for 3 reps, then two rest-pause sets for 2 reps, finishing off with one rest-pause set for one rep.

After completion, you will have endured 14 reps on each arm with a weight that you could generally complete only 6-8 reps. This method forces not only the target muscle/s to grow but also encourages their pure strength. Studies show that when executing unilateral exercises, your able to lift more than 50% what you could lift with both limbs! If these numbers don’t tell you to incorporate Rest Pause Training into your workout routine, then you might as well be the guy in the intro of this article.

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The Best Nutrition and Diet Tips for Athletes

Saturday, January 9th, 2010

As an athlete, you should always be looking for ways to increase energy, strength and performance. Do you know that through the proper nutrition you can increase all of the above?

But what foods should you eat in order to make sure you stay performing at the top of your game?

We’ll take a look at these top 5 tips to ensure your body is given the proper nutrition for athletic enhancement and performance.

1. Eat 5 to 6 Small Meals a Day

This is by far the #1 tip when it comes to proper nutrition for athletes. Imagine your body like a race car. In order for a race car to function properly you need to give it the best gasoline, oil and tires to run the way it is supposed to. Likewise, without proper nutrition, you will not reach your full athletic potential. By eating 5 to 6 small meals a day, you will be able to recover at a faster rate and increase your energy levels!

2. Consume The Right Ratio of Macronutrients

A topic not discussed very often with regards to proper nutrition for athletes is macronutrients. They consist of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Without them you will not be able to survive. If you consume the correct amount of macronutrients at the right time, you will be well on your way to achieving your set goals, regardless of the sport you are in.

Definitely make sure that you emphasize complex carbs throughout the day and also include some simple carbs before and after the workouts. Finally, lean protein sources in every meal and some fats that are high in Omega 3s should be the sort of foods that make up your diet.

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3. Drink Plenty of Clean Water

The ideal amount of water to consume is your body weight multiplied by .66. So, if you weigh 200 pounds, you will require 132 ounces (200 multiplied by .66) of water. If you are not properly hydrated, your athletic performance will be hindered.

Water also helps to cleanse your body and acts as a detox to any harmful substances that may linger around. It keeps you hydrated and cools you off when you are sweating. In addition, water is required for important processes such as fat burning and muscle production.

4. Consume a Post-Workout Recovery Meal

Post-workout meals are important as they help you replenish your glycogen levels. Glycogen (stored carbs) is needed for energy and gets burned up after a workout as they are your main source of energy. As a result, after working out you should consume a meal that is high in protein and carbohydrates (both simple and complex). By doing this, you will allow your body to recover faster and will allow you to be that much better the next time you exercise or perform any physical activity.

5. Take Your Multi Vitamin and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals allow your body to process chemical reactions at an accelerated rate. B-complex vitamins provide a great health benefit as they help to further break down carbohydrates which in terms will give you energy. While you do obtain vitamins and minerals from certain foods you eat, they usually are not enough for those who are involved in physical activities such as exercising and sports.

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Search Results

Thursday, March 26th, 2009
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Top 10 Bicep Workout Mistakes

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

As a beginner, it’s often difficult to get into weight training and working out. Most beginners (including me when I was a beginner) don’t want to approach the big guys and ask them questions about workouts and what they’re doing. In today’s article we’re going to look at the top 10 bicep workout and bicep exercise mistakes. The aim of this article is to help people who are new to bicep workout and bicep training techniques. This will ensure that bicep workout and exercise beginners build the most muscle in the time they spend in the gym.

Bicep workout mistake #1 – Bad technique

I go on and on about this on eBicep.com that bicep exercise technique is very important to build big biceps. If you cheat during by swinging the weight or not lifting the full range of motion you are only cheating yourself. For details on how to do each bicep exercise correctly, see Vince Delmonte’s bicep exercises section.

Bicep workout mistake #2 – Too many sets!

There have never been a rule that says more sets = bigger biceps. It’s all about quality or training. You are better off doing 15 sets of quality bicep workout exercises than doing 30 sets of poor form rubbish. You need to concentrate on every rep of every set, watch your bicep muscle as you pull the weight up – focus on it. Just remember, a small amount of quality training will build bigger muscles than a large amount of poor quality training.

 

Bicep workout mistake #3 – Overtraining

Overtraining so very common, especially in a competitive environment like bodybuilding. As a general rule for all muscle groups (not just biceps): if the muscles you are about to trainare still sore from your last workout, don’t train them. Simple as that. As you’ll see from my next point, resting is more important than training.

Bicep workout mistake #4 - Not enough rest

To someone new to working out, this just sounds plain stupid. Buy as experienced muscle builders know, rest is a very important part of building your muscles. When you workout your bicep muscles you’re actually breaking and tearing them (that’s why they “pump up”). And when you rest and sleep your muscle grow and repair. Not enough rest = not enough muscle growth. rest up!

Bicep workout mistake #5 – High reps / light weights

One of the most commonly asked questions in muscle building is, “how many reps should I do to build the most muscle?”. There’s is no straight answer to this because there’s so many variables. There is 1 common rule though, heavier weights/less reps = bigger and stronger muscles. So to get the most out of your bicep workout, drop the reps down to 6-8 on your big bicep exercises and do a few extra sets.

Bicep workout mistake #6 – Same old routine

After a few months of doing the same workout, your muscles will get accustomed to the workout and stop growing. This is called a plateau, and every muscle builder hit’s it at some stage. You need to mix up your bicep workouts every 2-3 months. Change days, change exercises, workout your biceps with a different muscle group. Mix it up, you’ll see and feel the difference!

Bicep workout mistake #7 – Pre-exhausted biceps

It’s important when planning your bicep workout that you don’t work any other body parts that use the biceps before your bicep workout. For example, a big mistake I see all the time is training the back then the biceps. This is not good for your biceps because all the back exercises use biceps as a secondary muscle group. So don’t train your back before your biceps, or vice versa. Train your back and biceps on separate days.

Bicep workout mistake #8 – Wrong exercise order

If you have read our bicep workout page you’ll see that we always do our biggest bicep exercises at the beginning of the workout. These are the heaviest weight movers and need the most energy. So stick to your big exercises like bicep curl at the start of your bicep workout and follow with the smaller exercises.


Bicep workout mistake #9 – Not enough rest between sets

You need to make sure you have adequate rest between sets, other you wont be able to left heavy weights, and you will not be able to grow as much muscle. For the bigger bicep sets a longer rest is OK, take what you need and don’t rush it. If your workout is taking to long, split it over a few days.

Bicep workout mistake #10 – Poor eating

You know the saying, “eat big to get big”, well it’s true. In particular you need to eat as much protein as possible and complex carbohydrates. You need to eat small meals, more often. For more information see our food to eat to build muscle article.

Peter Simpson has been a personal trainer and muscle builder for more than 9 years. For Bicep Workout and Bicep Exercise guides see Peter’s 100% dedicated bicep workout site eBicep.com

Author: Peter Simpson

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Freebies

Saturday, February 14th, 2009

10 Free Tools for Weight Loss

Everybody likes free stuff. If you know where to look, there is an abundance of free weight loss tools to be found on-line. Weight loss tools are suitable for people who like numbers, and like keeping track of things. Some of us prefer to just “wing it”. Enjoy.

  • FitDay – An extremely popular on-line diet tracker.
  • NutriDiary – Tracks food, calories, and weight.
  • ExRx – Animations of hundreds of exercises (by muscle group)
  • SparkPeople – Diet and exercise program that has now removed its fees.
  • PeerTrainer – Diet and exercise program – where you become part of a group.
  • Weight Loss Calculators (caloriesperhour.com) – BMR, BMI, RMR, etc.
  • Weight Loss Calculators (freedieting.com) – macro-nutrient ratios, body fat %, etc.

Nutrition info:

  • NutritionData – Has comprehensive information on most foods.
  • DietFacts – As well as the standard foods, has manually-entered data from many restaurants
  • CalorieKing – Has comprehensive nutritional info, but their Portion Watch tool is unique – it has photos of different portion sizes of many popular foods. (Note that CalorieKing’s diet program is fee-based).

Walking

Walking Chart — Keep track of your daily walks!

Your Health Age

Health Age Questionnaire — Discover your “health” age!

Nutrition Log

Nutrition Log — A chart to log your daily nutritional intake.

Carb Counters Cheat Sheet

Carb-Counters Cheat Sheet for Fruits and Vegetables

Atkins Carbohydrate Chart

Atkins Carboydrate Chart

Diabetic Free Foods List

Diabetic Free Foods List

Diabetic Food Exchange

Diabetic Food Exchange Chart

Heart Rate Calculator

Target Heart Rate Calculator

Body Measurements Calculator for Men

Ideal Body Measurements Calculator for Men

BMI Calculator

BMI Calculator

Male Girth Calculator

Male Girth Calculator

Calories Expended

Calories Expended

Calorie Calculator for Men

Calorie Calculator for Men

Calorie Calculator for Women

Calorie Calculator for Women

Weight Charts for Men

Weight Charts for Men

Weight Charts for Women

Weight Charts for Women

General Height/Weight Chart

Height/Weight Chart

Hidden Carbohydrate Calculator

Fiber/Hidden Carbohydrate Calculator

Push Up Test

Push Up Test

Weight Training Log

Weight Training Log

Exercise Calculator

Exercise Calculator

Weight Maintenence for Women

Weight Maintenence (Caloric) Calculator for Women

Weight Maintenence for Men

Weight Maintenence (Caloric) Calculator for Men

One-Rep Max Calculator

One Repetition Max Calculator

Activity and Food Exchange Plan

Activity and Food Exchange Plan

Nutrition Guide Chart

Nutrition Guide Chart

Daily Food Diary

Daily Food Diary

Daily Food Diary II

Daily Food Diary II

Another Food Diary

Food Diary II

Workout Log

Workout Log

Informational Tools

Body Glossary

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