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Men’s Fitness Clothing: How to Choose the Best Workout Clothes


When choosing men’s fitness clothing your primary consideration should be comfort. You won’t be able to exercise well if your workout clothes fit badly or are inappropriate for the activity. By choosing the right workout clothes, you’ll be able to move freely and get the support you need. You will feel motivated to exercise more and take charge of your health.
Type of Activity
Obviously, you need men’s fitness clothing that is suitable for the activity you’ll be engaging in. There are workout clothes designed for the gym, yoga, running, swimming, biking, etc. Choose your exercise clothes accordingly. For example, compression shorts are great for biking. You can also wear them under your running shorts to provide support and prevent chafing.
Consider Your Comfort Zone
There may be parts of your body that you would prefer to conceal, such as your belly or legs. Find clothes that hide imperfections or flatter your form. You can find many styles suitable for people of all shapes and sizes.
Type of Material
You can sweat a lot while working out. For this reason, find men’s fitness clothing made from lightweight and absorbent material. They allow your skin to breathe and help you stay cool and comfortable. Many workout clothes are made from synthetic blends that wick moisture away from your skin. Avoid pure cotton shirts. They absorb and retain moisture and can become wet and heavy the longer you exercise.
Size of Fitness Clothes
Men’s fitness clothing include shorts, shirts, jerseys, pants, etc. When choosing your workout clothes, it’s important to get a suitable size for a comfortable workout. Oversized clothing can get in the way of your exercise activity and can even be dangerous especially in the gym. The right-fitting clothes will allow you to exercise freely. Check your workout clothes for flexibility, support, stretchiness and non-chafing.
Undergarments
When choosing fitness clothing, men often forget about undergarments. This is a big mistake because the right undergarments will ensure that you will have a safer and more effective workout. Men need a well-constructed athletic supporter. Consider wearing compression shorts to prevent your inner legs from rubbing together and causing thigh chafing.
Socks
When working out in the gym or doing outdoor exercise activities, you often need to wear shoes and socks. Choose the right shoes for the activity. Socks are also important for your workout. They should be able to absorb sweat while providing protection for your feet.
Price and Quality
People sometimes sacrifice quality in order to get cheaper prices. When choosing men’s fitness clothing, choose the best quality that you can afford. Fortunately, you can now get high quality workout clothes at affordable rates.

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Weight Loss Exercise

High Intensity Interval Training Research


High intensity interval training, also known as HIIT, has become immensely popular in the last decade. HIIT involves alternating brief bursts of very high intensity exercise (work intervals) with brief segments of lower intensity exercise (recovery intervals). One problem with some types of HIIT is that they call for such high intensity bursts – literally all out sprints – that they’re not practical for everyone, and possibly not even safe for older or overweight individuals.

A recent study out of McMaster University has tested a protocol for HIIT that produces impressive results in a short period of time without the need for “all-out” sprints…

Many of the previous studies on high intensity interval training used ALL-OUT intervals on a specialized cycle ergometer, pedaling against a high resistance.

Results of High Intensity Interval Training Study

High Intensity Interval Training Research

High Intensity Interval Training

This type of training takes a high level of commitment and motivation and can result in feelings of severe discomfort and even nausea.

One of my colleagues mentioned in our Burn the Fat Forums that he remembers exercise physiology class in college where they did all out cycle ergometer interval sprint testing and nearly everyone either puked or passed out.

The Tabata protocol for example, is a brief but brutal 4 minute HIIT workout often spoken of by trainers and trainees alike with both appreciation and dread. It’s no walk in the park.

The truth is, some high intensity interval training protocols which have been tested in the lab to produce big improvements in cardiovascular function and conditioning in a short period of time, may not be practical or safe, especially for beginners, obese or older adults.

In this new study out of McMaster University, a HIIT protocol that was more practical and attainable for the general population was tested to see how the results would compare to the more “brutal” very short, but extremely intense types of HIIT.

Here’s what the new HIIT protocol looked like:

  • Study duration: 2 weeks
  • Frequency: 3 sessions per week (mon, wed, fri)
  • Work intervals: 60 seconds @ constant load
  • Intensity Work intervals: “high intensity cycling at a workload that corresponded to the peak power achieved at the end of the ramp VO2peak test (355 +/- 10W)”
  • Recovery intervals: 75 seconds
  • Intensity Recovery Intervals: Low intensity cycling at 30W”
  • Rounds: 8-12 intervals
  • Progression: 8 intervals 1st two workouts, 10 intervals second two workouts, 12 intervals last 2 workouts.
  • Warm up: 3 min:
  • Duration of work intervals: 8-12 minutes
  • Total time spent: 21-29 minutes.

Results: In just 2 weeks, there were significant improvements in functional exercise performance and skeletal muscle adaptations (mitochondrial biogenesis). Subjects did not report any dizziness, nausea, light headedness that is often reported with all-out intervals.

They concluded that HIIT does not have to be all-out to produce significant fitness improvements and yet the total weekly time investment could remain under 1 hour.

On a personal note, I REALLY like this kind of interval training: 60 second work intervals repeated 8-12 times. Here’s why:

Body composition was not measured in this study, but I believe that enough energy expenditure can be achieved with 20-30 minutes of this style of interval training to make significant body comp improvements in addition to all the cardiovascular conditioning improvements.

That’s another problem with super-brief and super intense high intensity interval training programs: The cardio and heart benefits are amazing, but you can only burn so many calories per minute, no matter how intensely you work. To call a 4-minute workout a “good fat burner” in the absolute sense is ridiculous.

Somewhere in between long duration slow/moderate steady state cardio and super short super-intense HIIT lies a sweet spot for fat-burning benefits… a place where intensity X duration yield an optimal total calorie expenditure at a reasonable time investment. Perhaps this 20-30 minute HIIT workout is it?

If you’ve read any of my other articles on cardio, you’ll know that I’m not against steady state cardio, walking or even light recreational exercise and miscellaneous activity as part of a fat loss program. All activity counts towards your total daily energy expenditure, and in fact, the little things often add up during the day more than you would imagine (just look up N.E.A.T. and see what you find).

But for your formal “cardio training” sessions, if you’re going to use traditional cardio modes (stationary cycle, etc.) and if your goal includes fat burning, and if your time is limited, then this type of high intensity interval training is a great choice and you can now say it is research proven…

Not to mention… the excuse, “I don’t have enough time” has been officially busted!

Train hard and expect success!

Tom Venuto, author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Founder CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle

Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Men’s Health Spartacus Workout


Spartacus Workout, is it for you? Have you ever wondered how the actors in the popular television program, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, developed those sculpted muscles and well-defined abs and chest? They went through a specially-designed, high intensity workout program that burned belly fat and developed their muscles. The Men’s Health Spartacus Workout program is patterned after the muscle-building workouts of the actors in the TV program, and can help you boost endurance, burn fat, and get ripped abs.

Some people say that the actual Spartacus Workouts used to get the actors in shape are a hundred times more challenging than the routines in the Men’s Health version, but anyone who has picked up the Spartacus Workout Challenge will tell you that the exercise circuit is no walk in the park.

Framework for Men’s Health Spartacus Workout

The Spartacus Workout consists of 10 exercises carefully selected to collectively workout different parts of the body. The exercises are grouped together in a high-intensity circuit that will burn body fat, develop the muscles, and boost your endurance level. Each circuit has two stages with 5 exercises in every stage.

Mens Health Spartacus Workout

Spartacus Workout

The workout program is designed to be done three days a week. Perform one set of each exercise, called a “station”, in succession. Each station is allotted 60 seconds and you can do as many reps as you can, with perfect form. You can rest for up to 15 seconds between stations. Rest for 2 minutes after completing one circuit.

Exercises for Spartacus Workout

Exercise routines for Men’s Health Spartacus Workout consist of a variety of exercises that will challenge your heart, lungs and muscles. Some of the exercises include: Squat Pull and Thrust, Offset Reverse Dumbbell Lunge, Squat to Shoulder Press, Single Leg and Arm Dumbbell Row, Plank Walkup, Jump Squat, and Single Leg Deadlift with a Twist.
When using weights, choose a weight that is challenging for 15 to 20 reps.

Does the Spartacus Workout Work?

Designed by fitness experts Adam Campbell and Rachel Cosgrove to get the Spartacus cast in rock-hard shape, the Spartacus Workout is definitely effective and challenging. The great thing about this routine is that it burns fat while building muscle. You can also do the exercises with or without dumbbells, depending on your level of fitness and strength. This option also allows you to decide whether or not you should invest in additional equipment.

Soon after the release of the original Spartacus Workout, the Spartacus Workout 2.0 came out. The all-new Spartacus Workout 3.0 is also available these days. If you’re looking for a structured routine that will challenge your endurance and strength, give this workout a try.

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