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Weight Loss Exercise

Best Bench Press Workout

The world will never agree on the best bench press workout to get you stronger in the fastest time possible. Advanced lifters use an in-depth training system which includes bench press bands and chains for greater resistance. They are effective but may be rather complicated for a person entering the bench press world for the first time. Also bear in mind that just because another method is simpler, i.e. not involving chains and pads, doesn’t mean that it’s not as effective. It is! It’s just different.

So let’s get to your bench press workout.

Bench Press Workout Technique

Best Bench Press WorkoutFirstly, getting the correct technique is vital. You are going to be lifting larger and larger weights as time progresses in your bench press workout and it is absolutely essential to get the right technique to avoid future injury. So, you need to use good leverage and be stable to bench press more weight. Lie down flat on the bench and using your middle fingers, hold the bar over the engraved lines. Gently shimmy up the bench so your chest is under the bar which is still on the rack at this stage. Steady your feet firmly on the floor and raise your shoulders away from the bench.

Then arch your back and place your neck and trapezoid muscles on the bench so only your butt and trapezoids are touching the bench. At this stage the bar, which is still on the rack, is still above your head. Now, squeeze your shoulder blades together and keep them squeezed throughout the lift. This will assist you to remain stable and lets you use your triceps and lats along with your shoulders and chest to move the weight.

So the next step now you have this position is to place about 25% of your bench press maximum weight onto the bar. Maintain your position as above and lift the bar off the rack. Have it at arms length above your chest then lower it, keeping control, to slightly under your nipple line. During the lift, your elbows should be at a 45 degree angle to your body leading to good leverage and line. Now, in a straight line, press the weight back to where you started.

Bench Press Workout Tips

Your bench press workout will change and vary over time. A time tested tip for when you are pressing the bar upward is to try and pull the bar apart. This helps you lock out the weight and you can angle your index finger knuckles towards you which makes it easier.

Now it’s time to add some more weight for your bench press workout. Place 55% of your bench press maximum onto the bar and using the same start position as above, repeat 5 presses as above. Ensure you adequately stretch and rest for at least 3 minutes between each set. Then you will be ready for the heavier weights.

Now put 75% of your maximum bench press onto the bar and lift for 3 repetitions. Rest and stretch as above and then place 80% onto the bar and lift for 1 repetition. Now place 85% of your maximum onto the bar and do 7 to 9 sets of 1 repetition, remembering to rest and stretch between each set as above.

Now it’s time to recover from your bench press workout. It is recommended to take some whey protein and creatine within 60 minutes after your bench press workout to gain in strength and size in a faster time.


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Andropause and Male Menopause Symptoms

When a man enters the age of forty Male Menopause begins to start, he begins to experience the awkward feeling of confusion, split personality and stressfulness. He tends to lose his sense of purpose as well as his former self. He is craving for the new order of things, more ventures and is spinning out of control.

In the quest to understand this crisis, series of studies are undertaken. Even the medical science allots time to formulate possible formulas to find the remedy on its symptoms. There are creams, pellets, pills and even surgeries that are deemed to resolve the crisis.

What is Male Menopause?

Andropause and Male Menopause SymptomsBut what is really in the core of this predicament? Dr. Robert S. Tan constructed his book of Andropause mystery: unraveling the truths about male menopause in the pursuit to explain the circumstances and why they happen to a man.

According to Dr. Robert Tan, male menopause or the declination of hormonal levels comes to pass to both men and women. For men, such transition period is called andropause. The period usually strikes at forty when age normally causes internal troubles to almost everyone. Subsequently, internal changes had exterior manifestations in terms of social, career and family interactions.

Furthermore, Dr. Robert Tan added that as the man reaches the age of 50-70, the Male Menopause symptoms become more visible and provoked. Symptoms such as declination of levels of virility and energy accompanied by easily being exhausted, rapid mood sways and palpitations appear. Most men report their erectile dysfunction as the most notable event during andropause. Apart from this, Dr. Tan’s patients also complained of their being nervous, irritable and depressed.

Physical and Mental Symptoms of Male Menopause

Palpitations are due to the decrease of the testosterone level caused by over reaction of the autonomic system. It must be noted that it is natural for men who are suffering from andropause.

Formerly active men who used to be directed to their careers and power enhancement suddenly become close to family and their friends. However, there are some who preferred to find a new set up on their lifestyle which will turn them from the confusion and depression of andropause period.

The medical science has prepared remedies to relieve these symptoms of male menopause. The problem is that most men do not submit to seeing a doctor even for health reasons. The reason is that it hits their masculine pride to be thought of as either vulnerable or dependent. This becomes a challenge to most wives.

One way to convince men to see the doctor is by accompanying him to a trained and understanding expert. By going together, the doctor can fully extract the needed information from the couple. However, there will also be times when the interview would be held independently to do away with the inhibitions.

Study of Symptoms of Andropause

As part of the clinical study, the following things are being checked as andropause basis: hair loss, shrinkage of testicles, decrease of libido and sex drive, erectile dysfunction, exhaustion, depression, decrease of muscle strength, oligospermia, and decrease in bone density.

Since the andropause stage could be very stressful among men, it is advisable that wives should become more understanding and supportive. Andropausal men should be encouraged to organize himself, to manage his alcohol and cigarette consumption, to relax, to eat healthy foods and to exercise.

Andropause is another profound journey which needs the positive involvement of the family. Male Menopause as well can be handled both physiologically and psychologically by those around him.


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Extreme Weight loss on Biggest Loser

Just like anyone I was horrified at the pictures that I saw of Biggest Loser Rachel from the show last night. I understand what she did, I think we all do but the message is dangerous.

There are lots of motivations that drive people to lose weight. Ex-athletes and other very competitive people are always looking for the win and I am sure Rachel is no different. After a few years of gaining weight and losing her previous health and fitness level there is a lot that would drive her after some initial success. We all know times when we succeed just a little bit at something our confidence grows, just imagine a competitive swimmer that is not competitive for years getting that taste of success and just going for it.

biggest loser rachelWhat we saw on the stage last night was not a celebration of health, it was the attainment of success and winning. We saw Rachel get that competitive fire back and she pushed as hard as she could to not just get in better shape, but to lose as much weight as humanly possible.

And she sure did that.

I am sure she is calling all the outraged people on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs haters today, as she maybe should because all she did was go for the win like any competitor would.

A Brief History of The Biggest Loser

But still, what are we supposed to be thinking? I know that the first season that I saw Biggest Loser as an anomoly, a show where everyone was cheering on their fellow contestants as they tried to overcome health issues and weight problems, and confidence problems, all as a result of weight gained in the past. They were all mostly excited about the future.

I think it was in the second season of The Biggest Loser that we saw a hint of gameplay and by the third season we started seeing people “playing the game” hard, even to the point of padding their weight gains when they had immunity so that the next week they would have a huge loss. Over the last few seasons people get smaller and smaller, knowing that to be competitive in the finale you need to lose at least 50% of your bodyweight.

Well last night it all came to a head. Even the trainers, Bob Harper, and Jillian Michaels were shocked. The show that they started working on to help people lose weight, get fit, and entertain to the end goal of building a nation that improves its lifestyle had just seen the dark side. The dark side being that to lose the most weight you also have to lose lots of muscle and fat.

Where Can Biggest Loser Go From Here?

A lot of people that are a lot smarter than me have given up on The Biggest Loser long ago since the goal of 10 pound weekly weight losses are a lot more dangerous than not losing weight at all and are building up terrible expectations and feelings of failure in all of use that can only make relativley small incremental improvements in fitness.

We all look at weight loss as actually fat loss and almost everyone promotes the idea of gaining muscle as a way to improve health and strength. Trouble is muscle is still weight. And after losing all the fat you can you still have to find a way to lose more weight to win at the Biggest Loser.

I wish I had an answer. I have been racking my brain all day today wondering how they do this better. How can a show that has had to reinvent itself for ratings stop itselfe from becoming a freakshow that does not really motivate anymore but titilate with barfing, crying, and now extreme weight loss that shows the thinspo freakshow that extreme weight loss is.

I hope that NBC and the people in charge of the Biggest Loser can fix things but I worry that the show has now run it’s course.

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