Month: April 2015

I am not sure that I have really stressed the importance of strength training workouts in the past quite enough so today I will go into a bit more detail on how doing strength training workouts can help you reach your fitness goals.

Strength Training Workouts are one of the two major kinds of workouts with Cardio workouts being the other.

The main reasons to do strength training workouts

• To gain muscle
• To lose fat
• To increase metabolism
• To improve stamina

The list above if nothing else will tell you that if you are not doing them now, that you should at least start thinking about ways to do strength training workouts.

Strength Training Workouts to Gain Muscle

How to Lift Weights Properly for Strength Training

Of course we all know that lifting weights will over time help you gain muscle. If you do not believe this look at any Olympic or pro athlete and it should be obvious. The key is the strength training workouts.

To gain muscle it is important to do lifting sets to failure. Your muscles really will only get bigger and stronger by being pushed to the maximum and then your body knows to increase the size and relative strength so that you will not have this problem in the future.

If you have read my articles before you probably already know that I look at the human body as a machine that will change based on stimuli. If your body does not need more strength it will remain the same, if your body needs more strength it will adapt.

Strength Training Workouts to Lose Fat

There are two ways that your body will use workouts to lose fat. You probably already know that any exercise will force your body to burn calories and this calorie burn will force your body to burn fat and therefore make you lower your fat level IF you keep the amount of food that you eat at the same or lower.

The other way that you will lose fat by doing workouts is by elevating the amount of muscle that you have. As you gain muscle you will need to burn more calories in order to keep the amount of muscle that you have and to help maintain your body as a whole.

Strength Training to Increase Metabolism

This kind of goes together with the previous point and that is that your body will work to keep your body healthy. You have a base metabolic rate, the rate at which your body just burns calories at rest and for many hours after a tough workout you will be able to burn the calories at a faster rate at rest.

One important method that your strength training will help you to increase your metabolism is to do sets right after each other. This is known as interval training or supersetting. Do one set of bench, to failure, and then do lat pulldowns without any rest between sets. This is the basics behind interval training. The bench press works all of the chest, front shoulders, and triceps, the lat pulldowns are only able to be done because the pack, backs of shoulders and biceps are fresh and able to do a set to failure.

This interval training is a very popular way to lose these days and by doing this you get rid of the boredom that many people feel by doing hour upon hour of cardio workouts.

Strength Training to Improve Stamina

Doing strength training will build stamina. Often when we are doing things over the weekend, yardwork, playing with the kids, going for walks and other low energy type exercise we find that by the end of the day we are really tired. One thing that I have always found , although I can not seem to find any studies on this, is that by doing strength training you can move from activity to activity during the day and do not get tired very easily.

Start your Strength Training Workouts Today

I have been doing strength training for years and I know that many years ago it was just so that I could get big and strong, truly ego enriching activities but now I do strength training workouts to get strong, lean and coordinated. I love doing cardio and like the pump that I get from letting the endorphins really rage within my system and make me feel great but those workouts give me a sense of control and well being that I do not get from Cardio.

Look through the articles that I have written throughout this blog and see how your can easily do lifting at home and get these and other benefits or join a gym and learn more about building muscle. But for now remember that one of the critical parts of your fitness needs to be strength training workouts

Related Blogs

• Related Blogs on Fitness

Michael Gales is an athlete, a boxer that now works with Everlast Nutrition and has a wealth of background in exercises and nutrition. He offered me up this article on muscle gaining that I think is spot on for anyone looking to gain muscle but may be a little confused as to what is important and what is just a refinement that will not make much difference.

If you are looking to tone up and stay lean then building new muscle is what you are really after. Aside from firming you up which is aesthetically pleasing building new muscle will increase your metabolism which will make it easier to ward off unwanted body fat.

There are a lot of misconceptions floating around due to the fact that there are chemicals out there that can make a person artificially anabolic (muscle building).

If you are looking to do it the all-natural and healthy way then the following 6 truths about gaining new muscle will explain how to get it done.

Exercise Intensity to Build Muscle

This is the number one concept that most people get wrong when they want to gain some muscle. Your body is an adaptable machine but it will only adapt if it feels that it must. When you train, your muscles will develop little microscopic tears in them. Your body can repair those tears and make your muscles a little bigger.

Heavier objects call for a larger recruitment of muscle fibers and thus you will have tears spanning over a greater amount of muscle.  To make a long story short; the best way to force that adaptation of your muscle is to increase the intensity and lift a little heavier weight.

Many women are in fear of lifting heavier weights as they believe that they will become muscle bound. The truth is that they lack the hormones to naturally do so.

The women that they see walking around at 200lbs of lean muscle did not become that way via natural means so there is  no need to worry. Women are not in danger of becoming a hulk by increasing the intensity of their resistance training. What they will see is a more effective program that produces better results.

I would recommend that women looking to gain some lean muscle aim for 10 repetitions per set. Men should aim for 8 – 10 per repetitions per set.

That means that by the time you got to that 10^th rep you should barely be able to complete another. If you find that you still have a lot left in the tank then you need to go heavier as your current resistance level is too low to elicit an adaptation that will effectively gain new muscle.

Importance of Protein Intake

In order for you to gain some new muscle you are going need the building blocks to make it. I mentioned that your muscles will sustain some microscopic damage when you train and your body will need materials to make some repairs. Your muscles are made of amino acids which in fact are protein.

I would recommend that you have at least .75 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. So if you weighed a lean 100lbs then you would consume 75 grams of protein per day. That is from your diet in total and not just from supplements. Try to remember that supplements are there to augment your diet and not replace it.

Rest and Recovery after Workouts

Once again we go back to that concept of your muscles undergoing microscopic trauma during training. In point 2, I noted that your body will use some protein to make those repairs. Your body will also need time, at least 48 hrs. to complete those repairs. Thus rest becomes an important factor in building muscle. This is why you do not want to train your legs with resistance every day.

I would recommend that you rest them for 72hrs to ensure that the repairs have been completed.

Positive Calorie Intake

This is another concept that people seem to ignore when they are trying to gain new muscle. Let’s say for arguments sake that your body was burning 2000 calories a day. If you add new muscle then it also will need more nutrition for it to survive.

So you might now be burning 2500 calories per day. Well your body is a great mathematician and it knows that if it is eternally put at a caloric deficit then you will not survive very long. Your body wants to keep you alive and so it won’t add on some new muscle unless it knows that you have the ability to feed it.

This is why I recommend to those that are trying to gain muscle to increase their caloric intake by at least 500 calories per day.

Exercise Output Progression

Keep in mind that your body will adapt to the increase in intensity. That means that after a period of time you may have to increase the intensity even more to continue gaining new muscle.

Your body also makes neurological adaptations that make the movements that you routinely perform more efficient.

Thus you may want to switch things up to keep your body guessing and adapting. This could be in the form of new exercises, different intensity levels and different rest periods between sets.

Workout Consistency

Rome wasn’t built in a day and you will not gain muscle overnight. It takes about 6 to 10 weeks for muscle hypertrophy (increase in muscle size) to be noticeable. For the best results you will want to train your muscles consistently and with a certain frequency.

I would recommend that you train each muscle group (with intensity) at least once per week.

Also keep in mind that you do need to rest and as such I would not train each muscle group more than twice per week. The most effective program will be the one that strikes a balance between training with regularity while providing enough rest so that your muscles are not over trained.

Michael Gales has a B.Sc. in Exercise science and has worked for many years in the fitness industry as a nutritional and supplement expert as well as a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS). He has also been a professional athlete, amateur boxer and currently works for Everlast Nutrition as an expert fitness consultant, also affectionately referred to as  ‘Head Trainer’ for Everlast Nutrition.

Related Blogs

• Related Blogs on Fitness

Natural loss is popular subject these days among the thousands of people who are desperately searching for ways to lose unwanted fat.

Frequently the term natural loss refers to pills and diet supplements, but genuine natural loss is the predictable result that happens when you alter what you eat, how and when you move, and how you think.

Natural Weight Loss or Medications?

Natural Weight Loss

Though natural loss is always the best method, check with your doctor as he may recommend medications that can help you take off the pounds. You may have a medical condition that prevents you from natural loss, and only he can diagnose it.

Many companies and individuals want you to believe that natural loss is difficult to achieve but in the end it’s just a case of not eating as much, and having enough regular exercise; however, most ignore this recommendation.

In a nutshell, natural loss can be simply described as eating foods that are low in calories from fat or sugar and high in fiber, along with regular exercise.

Natural loss extends beyond just altering your diet and exercise habits, though. Natural loss also includes a complete change in your mindset and the way you look at food in general. Remember, if you’re over, you didn’t get there overnight, and you won’t reach your desired goals overnight either.

Natural Weight Loss Eating Habits

The first step needed is to adapt to new eating habits and to not rely on diet drugs. Losing through natural means is generally achieved by working as closely as possible with your body’s natural processes.

The better choice for people wanting to melt off fat naturally is to eat low sugar foods which keep blood glucose levels more stable, helping to keep down sugar cravings, leave you feeling gratified longer, and curb your appetite more easily.

This solution is much better for the long term because you change your lifestyle without feeling hungry all the time.

Natural loss is a goal for a lot of individuals who would like to be healthier and low carb foods are a viable way to accomplish that end.

Another step in producing that mental transformation toward that goal is to recognize that low carb foods actually can have a good taste.

Low Carb High Fiber Foods

Here is a short list of foods that are low in carbs, and high in fiber; as in more fiber than carbs:

• Wheat bran
• Unsweetened coconut and coconut flour
• Collard greens
• Avocado
• Spinach and Chard
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Blackberries

It all boils down to this: it’s all about eliminating bad habits, being more conscious of what you eat, and managing your appetite with whole grains, lean protein and fresh fruit and vegetables.

Stop Weight Yourself – Lose Weight Naturally

One last thing: don’t get so hung up on the readings from the bathroom scales that you burn off precious muscle tissue as you lose . It’s better to forget the scales altogether and use a tape measure to keep up with your progress.

Fat weighs less than muscle, and as you work out, some fat is converted to muscle so you may not lose as much as you want, but if you check your progress with a tape, you’ll see the inches falling away.

And isn’t that what you’re really after?

Make a commitment to that, and you’ll be set with a healthier, better looking body and a lot more fun in your life all thanks to these natural loss methods