Saturday, September 4, 2010

Question by popsgw21: bicep exercises?
what are some good bicep exercises that i can add to my routine. i already do bicep curl

Best answer:

Answer by PB_GenX
Here you go…

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.php?MainMuscle=Biceps

Good luck!

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Getting A Good Workout With The Rowing Machine

The foremost reason why people purchase a rowing machine is to get into a habit of regular exercises to tone the muscles and burn off calories. Strength building and cardiovascular is amply provided through consistent workout with the rowing machine. Rowing machine provides a different form of conditioning and aerobic exercise compare to other form of fitness equipments.


Rowing machine is very effective in burning off calories but few use it compare to those who prefer conventional types of fitness equipments such as treadmills, stationary bike and the Nordic tracks. Nevertheless rowing machine is not only excellent in burning off calories as well as building muscle mass.


Among all fitness equipments, rowing machine is the best value for money as it offers a complete body workout as well as being very affordable. It may be simple and convenient to use but learning the different rowing exercises do take some time. As long as you persist, there is nothing you can’t accomplish as rowing cater to people of all ages and fitness level.


The rowing machine gets the job done in lesser time as it not only burn off excess calories but also add more lean muscles at the same time. Exercise with the rowing machine provides a complete body workout, thus producing effective results much earlier than other fitness equipments. Just by simply rowing the machine will offer a broader range of movement than with other activities, including stretching the muscles in addition to rotating the joints.


You can build better endurance capabilities and improved muscles mass just by rowing frequently as it works out the arm and leg muscles in addition to the abdominal and torso. On top of that, your lungs and heart will get stronger after exercising with the rowing machine as it many of those benefits that you can derive from other form of exercise equipments, targeting the upper body as well as raising the heart beat to a optimal level.


Burning off calories is much faster than with stationery bike and rowing is simpler to perform as well as getting you a firmer butt. This low impact exercise is done through smooth movement which is rhythmic and will result in less stress to the joints and muscles when done right.


To get started, you need to master the fundamentals of rowing machine exercises and a rowing machine mimic the actual experience of rowing a boat minus the water. It is such a great workout for all the major muscle groups in the body for instant the arms and the legs. The resistance level can be increased to stretch the muscles as well as adjusting the rowing speed to suit you.


The legs get tone quickly with rowing exercises and the area around the calves and thighs will produce results in no time. Besides developing strong abdominal muscles as contraction occurs when you are rowing, other muscles groups are equally toned. The four limbs that are involved in the rowing help to get you a great aerobic workout.


Sculpting and toning of the body is done through aerobic which will also assist in burning off calories. By increasing the metabolic rate as well as reducing heart related diseases, rowing burn off more calories than any other form of exercises. To do that, make sure that you add a variety of rowing exercises to work out different parts of the body.


The rowing machine is designed is such a way that the resistance level can be adjusted. To burn off calories, the resistance has to be adjusted to lower or no resistance as low weight and high reps equate definition. As more calories are burned, it will decrease the fats level defining the muscles. Increasing the resistance will assist in building muscle mass and strength, therefore for a rowing machine you can easily swing from strength training to cardiovascular workout.


When doing rowing exercises, make sure that you do not have back problem and if you have, there is a need to seek the advice of your physician before proceeding. Nonetheless, rowing is a very versatile exercise that can be carried out indoors or outdoors and the reward is a full body workout.


Rowing machine is a great piece of fitness to add to the home ensemble or the public gym. Provided you abide by the proper sets of rowing exercises with regular frequency, rowing will offer a great and effective workout that will be enduring.

Cindy Heller is a professional writer. Visit Rowing Machine Reviews to learn more about rowing machine home fitness and other rowing machine benefits.

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Fitness Over 40 With Weight Training Exercise

In my early adult years, I was a reasonably fit guy. I paid some attention to my fitness level, but I wasn’t fanatical about it. Not surprisingly, things changed in my forties. I was no longer able to maintain a reasonable fitness level without concentrated effort. In fact, by the time I was 44, I was out of shape and overweight. I had little energy and many outdoor activities were not fun anymore. I was not getting sufficient exercise.

It is a simple fact that as we age, if we do not exercise, we will begin to lose muscle mass and gain body fat. Our metabolism slows, and this slow but steady downward spiral will catch up to us eventually. Our fitness level will degrade unless we counteract this with a physical fitness exercise program that includes a muscle building component.

I knew that I wanted, and needed, to regain a healthy fitness level. I tried various forms of exercise including jogging, hiking, walking and working out with light weights. I also made changes to my diet. And I had various levels of success with each.

What really turned the corner for me was finding the right combination of a weight training – muscle building exercise routine, with aerobic exercise and a proper nutrition diet. While it is always important to begin gradually when initiating a new exercise and fitness routine, it was not until I started pushing myself with weights that I began to notice significant progress. My wife noticed too. Initially, I had been doing 3-4 sets of 4-5 different exercises, 2-3 times per week. That is not bad. However, I was not really challenging myself. I was typically doing 15 reps of each exercise, which meant that the weight that I was using was fairly low. Again, this is not a bad thing. But what I did not realize is that rather than building new muscle tissue, I was mainly building muscle endurance instead.

But building muscle endurance, instead of building new muscle, is not going to transform your body like intense weight training exercise will. Weight training, also known as resistance training, builds muscle, which in turn increases your metabolic rate. And that change in metabolic rate is sustained throughout the day, not just while you are working out. It takes energy, and burns calories, to maintain and build new muscle. It is the exercising of muscle during a workout, followed by muscle rebuilding after a workout, that provides the desired transformation. This applies to both men’s fitness and women’s fitness. And an effective muscle building fitness workout does not require extensive home exercise equipment or an expensive gym membership. Satisfying results can be achieved with a few dumbbells and a small bench.

So, what changed for me? I changed my weight lifting workouts from usually doing 12 to 15 reps of each exercise, to a more intensive routine that provides more muscle resistance. For each exercise, I start with 12 reps and a moderate warm-up weight. On each successive set, I increase the weight and reduce the number of reps. I increase the weight on the second set and do 10 reps. For set 3, I increase the weight again, performing 8 reps. On set 4, the weight is increased again, and I do 6 reps. On the final set I change things up and decrease the weight to the amount used in set 3 and do 12 reps. This is known as an exhaustion set.

On each weight training workout, I keep written notes of my workout and progress. I then adjust the weight used for each exercise based upon how I perform on set 4. If set 4 was too easy, then I know I need to increase the weights used, starting with sets 1 or 2. The process is iterative but this is an important key. I want to keep increasing my weights until the last 1 or 2 reps on set 4 are difficult. I really push myself on this set. If I can actually perform 8 reps on this set when my target was only 6 reps, then I need to increase the weight.

The point of all this, is that I am now lifting heavier and with greater intensity than when I first started. As a result, I am building muscle and this has made a significant difference in my results. My fitness level is up. My body fat is down. I feel better and have more energy. Fitness over 40 is attainable, but consider weight training exercise as a component to build and tone healthy muscle for better fitness. It is important to combine this with proper nutrition, vitamins, aerobic activity, and sufficient rest. Good luck on your journey!

Chuck Smalley writes about his personal fitness goals and successes from a personal perspective. He enjoys sharing what he has learned along his journey. You can find more about his Practical Fitness over 40 concepts at http://FortiesDiet.com/

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Circuit Training Exercise Equipment And Progressive Overload

Many people who have turned to a circuit training health club seeking quick weight loss get discouraged because they find that, once they start exercising consistently, they do achieve some results. Sooner than expected, however, they reach a plateau and have their progress grind to a halt. These folks aren’t doing anything wrong; they just lack the weight loss information needed to continually make headway toward their fat loss goals.

What these folks need is circuit training equipment that features adjustable resistance. In other words, they need the ability to increase or decrease the amount of resistance on the workout equipment.

Why is this important? Why not have just one level of resistance?

With only one resistance level, the typical 30-minute circuit workout gym franchise is unable to meet the long-term fitness needs of their members.

The ‘Principle of Progressive Overload’ maintains that once the body has adapted to the stress put upon it, no further progress will be made until 1) resistance is increased or 2) repetitions are increased. This puts a gym without adjustable resistance in the uncomfortable position of having their members ‘plateau’ once they have mastered the equipment. Depending on their age and prior fitness level, their members soon find that their progress has come to a halt.

Most circuit gyms are unable to adjust their resistance settings, so by definition they cannot promise life-long progress. Of course, their members could simply do more repetitions (exercise for 45-60 minutes), but that invalidates the entire 30-minute workout concept.

Circuit training gyms with adjustable equipment provide a solution to this problem. Pick Up The Pace, for example, offers equipment with six different resistance settings. Most new members start on a setting of one or two, and no members are able to complete a full workout on a setting of six. The hydraulic equipment provided at Pick Up The Pace thus provides an answer to the life-long fitness enthusiast; members will never plateau but will continue to make progress for as long as they are a member.

Another way to consider this concept is to think of jogging. If you went outside today and jogged for 10 miles, how do you think you would feel? Probably dead on your feet! Now, what would happen if you did that same 10 mile run every day for the next year? After twelve months it wouldn’t be difficult at all. The human body adapts to the stress put upon it, and in this example you would eventually find it easy to jog 10 miles.

Once your body has adapted to the point that a 10 mile run is no challenge, then you will cease to make progress. Sure, continuing to run 10 miles each day would certainly MAINTAIN your good health, but you wouldn’t make any more progress. Again, the ‘Principle of Progressive Overload’ mandates that in order for you to make more progress in this jogging example you would have to either 1) increase the resistance (run uphill) or 2) do more repetitions (run farther).

Resistance training works the same way. By increasing resistance periodically, you will achieve continuous progress and stay off the plateau.

It’s time to move up the resistance to the next level when:
a) it takes longer to reach your target heart rate
b) you have difficulty maintaining your target heart rate throughout your workout
c) the resistance feels ‘too light’ for you.

Increasing resistance when we’re not ready for it puts you at risk of injury, makes you burn less fat and doesn’t give your muscle the same beautiful tone you’re looking for, so don’t increase the resistance until you’re sure you’re ready.

If you’ve been exercising in a circuit training fitnes center, but are unhappy with your recent results, it may be time to seek out a gym with adjustable resistance.

This article brought to you by Circuit Training Business Opportunity, a circuit training exercise business opportunity. Find a gym job by opening your own health club or fitness center. Learn why our circuit training fitness equipment is the best in the industry. Please visit http://www.circuittrainingbusinessopportunity.com/ for more information.

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Question by dietbarqs12345: Why such frequent strength training exercises in physical therapy?
For normal strength training, it is generally recommended to do one weight session every other day. But for physical therapy after an injury, it seems to be generally recommended to do several sessions every day. When the goal for each is to build strength, why are the frequencies so different?

For instance in my case for a sprained wrist, I was given an exercise squeezing a ball of clay to do 20-30 squeezes three times a day to prevent muscle atrophy while in a brace. But normally if I were trying to strengthen these muscles, I would work them one session every other day at max.

Best answer:

Answer by mistify
The difference is between strengthening healthy muscle (ie, building connective tissue) versus strengthening or remodeling and injured tissue (reorganizing the structure). You are trying to accomplish different things with each exercise. Injured muscles and tendons become disorganized and are made with an inferior type of collagen. Putting a controlled, intermittent stress on it, triggers the tissue to mature and reorganize…this requires frequent loading throughout the day.

The other consideration, in your case, specifically is that you are in a brace (presumably after an injury or surgery) is that you cannot do maximum contraction right now because the maximum load would overload the structure. ) Therefore, we have to work at lower loads, but more frequently to minimize atrophy.

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A Typical Power Plate Workout

Modern man is always searching for an easy way to melt away the pounds. Whether it is a magic diet pill or a “no-effort” exercise option, the idea of losing weight without effort is appealing for the overweight individual who is in the midst of a crazy schedule. While there is no “magic pill” that will turn an obese individual into a skinny super-model, the Power Plate offers an advantage over the typical treadmill workout. Power Plates are popping up in gyms across the country, and many a home gym is now sporting one as well. How does this piece of exercise equipment work, and what is a typical Power Plate workout like?

What Is a Power Plate?

Power Plates are vibration devices designed to increase the effectiveness of a workout. It is comprised of a large plate that the exerciser stands on, a tower, and a handle. When turned on, the plate vibrates, which sends waves of energy through the body.

The device capitalizes on the body’s natural response to vibration. By simply adding vibration to the workout, the muscles contract an extra 25 to 50 times per second, making the workout much more effective. In fact, simply standing in an active pose, such as with the knees bent, while the Power Plate is on increase calorie burn tremendously.

Once the beginning workout stops causing fatigue, the workout chosen varies depending on the results desired. For instance, someone who is working on increasing stamina will do a different workout routine than someone who is working on weight loss.

How Does the Exercise Program Work?

The creators of the Power Plate advocate a trademarked “Acceleration Training” program. This program is carefully designed to increase the intensity of the workout while introducing the benefit of the device from the very beginning.

All workouts begin with a warm up and end with a cool down. The hamstrings and quads can be massaged by laying them on the machine and laying the rest of the body on the support pad. This pose should be held for 60 seconds. This should be done at the beginning and end of a workout. Also, typical stretching exercises can be done with the Power Plate. Simply balance the leg that is being stretched on the plate to add the benefit of the vibrations.

Beginners can also work the calves by standing on tiptoe with a slight bend to the knees. A beginner will work the arms by placing the hands on the machine, bending the elbows to a place where the individual can control his or her body, and balancing on the toes and hands. Each of these poses should be held for 30 seconds, followed by a 30 second rest.

Workout for Weight Loss

Those who are using Power Plates for weight loss add many movements to the routine. For instance, a lunge can be done with the bent leg on the machine, holding the pose for 30 seconds and then increasing the holding time to 60 seconds. The triceps can be worked by holding on to the machine with the hands and lifting the hips off of the edge of the machine with the elbows bent.

There are numerous other routines that can be performed with Power Plates, including those focused on cellulite reduction, stretching, upper body strength, or lower body strength. Because of its versatility when compared to other home gym equipment, like a treadmill, the Power Plate is likely to become a popular item, and many will consider its high cost to be worth the investment for the flexibility provided.

Fitness equipment retailer provides you with an informed decision on what fitness equipment would work best for you. Choose from many brands in treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, personal gyms, free weights and Power Plates Toronto.

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