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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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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Dumbbells are one of the most useful and versatile pieces of exercise equipment you can own. They can be used to effectively train any body part and are ideal for anyone, regardless of skill level, age, training capacity or fitness goals. A good set of dumbbells is just about all you need to achieve your fitness goals in the privacy and comfort of your own home. They offer significant cost savings over a gym membership-plus you don’t have to waste time and gas getting there. And with dumbbells there’s no need to spend thousands of dollars on fancy, hi-tech fitness machines advertised on television or magazines.

In shopping for dumbbells you’ve got to do it right. It’s easy to wind up spending a lot more money on dumbbells than necessary so your homework and don’t get ripped off.

In the past, dumbbells were basically little more than metal bars with a couple of iron weights attached to the sides. Functional yes, but the old-style dumbbells were not particularly well-suited for the average home gym. Not only were they unsightly, but storage was often a problem and they were also prone to rolling around and just generally getting in the way. Today though, there are a wide variety of styles, shapes and weights.

First off, dumbbells today are available with both fixed and variable weights. The variable varieties have a clamp or screw-type fixture on the ends of the bar to hold the weights in place. Variable-style dumbbells typically support up to about 50 pounds, making them ideal for the person with somewhat aggressive fitness goals. For the beginner or persons who are primarily looking to tone their bodies or maybe just lose a few pounds, fixed-weight dumbbells may be the best route to go.

Fixed-weight dumbbells are available in a broad range of styles-and colors too. The weights are usually hex- or octagon shaped to reduce the chances that they’ll roll around. Also, in many of the varieties developed specifically for the home, the weights are covered in rubber or vinyl, which considerably lowers the risk of damaging your floor or furniture when you set them down.

For the person frequently on the go who wants to be able to workout in the hotel room, aqua dumbbells may be the right piece of equipment for you. When empty, these innovative dumbbells weigh just a few ounces, take up minimal space and fit easily into a briefcase or duffel bag. To use them, you just fill them up with water and you’re all set to work out. They range in weight up to a maximum of about 16 pounds.

Before rushing out and buying a set of dumbbells, take time to think about your goals, where you’ll be working out and where you’ll be storing them-especially if you live in a condominium or apartment with limited space.

If general fitness or toning up is your goal then you won’t want a lot of weight-up to about 12 pounds for women and maybe up to 20 pounds for men. You’ll want a few different increments of weight though so you can vary your workouts. For women and older folks two-pound increments are ideal-for men, five-pound increments should work well.

So once you’ve made those decisions you can embark on a quest for the right dumbbells for you. My first rule of thumb is this: Keep it simple. Start small, establish a foundation and upgrade from there if necessary.

You might consider buying your first set of dumbbells used. There are plenty of people out there who bought nice dumbbells only to have them being used as doorstops six months later. Take advantage of their lack of commitment and enjoy the savings.

Depending on the style, quantity and where you buy them, a new set of dumbbells can cost anywhere from $1 per pound up to about $2.50 per pound. Sometimes you can find bargains online, but keep in mind weights can be costly to ship. We’ve seen some competitive prices at an equipment site called TheBenchPress.com. There is a link on the left hand navigation column entitled, “Dumbbells”. It’s worth comparing prices before purchasing.

On the other hand, a used set of dumbbells might run from as little as 25 cents a pound up to maybe 50 cents a pound. You can find really good deals on used dumbbells by scanning classified ads. If there are any stores in your area that sell used fitness equipment you should check them out as well-don’t forget thrift shops and garage sales too.

Now you’re equipped with the basic information you need to go about setting up your own home gym with dumbbells that are right for your needs and goals-and without getting ripped off. Stay tuned for the next lesson were we’ll reveal the best space saving dumbbell set around!

Author: Mike Westerdal

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If you’ve read more than two articles I’ve written then you should know that I favor unconventional training methodologies that push and challenge both body and mind. I firmly believe that this is the only way to get really big and hit your goals. From that perspective DoggCrapp Training (a.k.a. DC Training) definitely fits the bill. This incredibly intense program includes heavy progressive weights, lower volume/higher frequency of body parts trained, high intensity/rest-pause training, extreme stretching, a high protein diet and periodization (“blasting” and “cruising”). Here are the basics: Lower volume/higher frequency:

In most training routines you train each body part once a week doing 3-4 different exercises per muscle group. With DC Training, you only do 1-2 exercise per muscle group per day but you’re hitting each muscle group twice every 8 days. The lower volume of exercises means that your body can recover more rapidly, which in turn allows for a short turnaround between training sessions;

Exercise rotation:

The base program runs on a cycle hitting every body part 2 times every 8 days. It’s not as complicated as it sounds-you start by picking 3 exercises for each the various muscle groups like this: chest, back (width), back (thickness), delts, triceps, biceps, forearms and calves, hamstrings and quads. You do only one of those exercises per muscle group per workout but then you rotate to the next exercise in the following workout. Remember though that you’re doing each exercise 3 times to total failure in each workout so don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s easy. Here is what a sample routine might look like:

Monday: Chest, shoulders, triceps and back (width and thickness);

Wednesday: Biceps, forearms, calves, hamstrings and quads;

Friday: Chest, shoulders, triceps and back (width and thickness);

Monday: Biceps, forearms, calves, hamstrings and quads;

So you can see how every 8 days you’ve cycled through each body part twice, doing a different one of each of the 3 exercises you’ve chosen per workout. Keeping a training journal can keep you organized and help keep track of where you are in the training cycle;

High intensity/rest-pause training:

DC Training demands intensity. To begin, you do 2-5 warm-up sets (lighter weight) before the first set is performed to failure followed by 10-15 deep breaths before performing another set to failure. This is again followed by 10-15 deep breaths and then a final set to failure before moving on to the next exercise or muscle group. The goal is to explode on the uplift and descend with a controlled negative of about 6-8 seconds. You’ve got to be prepared both mentally and physically to take on Rest-Pause training though because instead of taking a one or two minute break between sets, you’re only resting for 20-30 seconds between each one;

Extreme stretching:

Stretching is an important part of the recovery process in DC Training. There are specific stretches for the chest, triceps, biceps, shoulders, back, quads, hamstrings and calves;

Diet:

The DC Training diet is very high in protein with a recommended intake of between 1.5 to 2.0 grams per pound of body weight;

Periodization:

The “blasting” phase is 6-12 weeks of high intensity, all-out training followed by a “cruising” phase of 10-14 days of maintenance training before repeating the cycle once again;

One of the nice things about DC Training is that it leaves plenty of room for customization. For example, instead of Monday-Wednesday-Friday-Monday, you could do Monday-Tuesday-Thursday-Friday but split the workout into 3 parts in order to shorten your training sessions (great if you’ve got a hectic schedule). Day 1 could include chest, shoulders and triceps. On Day 2 you could train biceps, forearms and back (width and thickness) and on Day 3 you could work calves, hamstrings and quads. This cuts your workout down to about 35 minutes including stretching but still has you hitting each body part twice in 9 days.

A lot of guys have had phenomenal results following the DC Training program. If you’re going to do it though, be prepared to really commit yourself to doing it right. DC Training requires you to push your body as far as it can go and then some-that’s why it works. To get the best results you’ve got to be prepared to give it your all and make it a really intense workout, pushing on for one more rep even when your mind and body are screaming “No!” If not, you’ll just be wasting your time.

Author: Mike Westerdal

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