Archive for the ‘Weight Training’ Category
Friday, June 25th, 2010How to Perform Front Squats
The best exercises for speed, strength, size, and power, are squats – bar none. Back squats, front squats, overhead squats… they are all great, and will help you develop powerful legs and a rigid core.
Front squats are just about the best alternative to back squats, so let’s see how to do them correctly.
Barbell front squats are just about the same as back squats except the bar is placed across the front of your shoulders, using one of the two styles detailed below.
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Tags: barbell, front squat, hamstrings, how to, legs, quads, squat
Posted in Exercise Technique, Weight Training | 6 Comments »
Thursday, June 17th, 2010The Taylor Lautner Workout
Here we go again! The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is coming out at the end of the month – June 30th if I’m not mistaken, so it is time to examine the developments in the physique of our buddy Taylor Lautner for this, the third installment of the Twilight Saga.
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Tags: gain muscle, jacob black, muscle gain, taylor lautner, twilight, Weight Training, weightlifting
Posted in Martial Arts, Weight Training | 11 Comments »
Friday, June 4th, 2010I recommend training with bands specifically in the Werewolf Training routines, but also in any routine you might currently be following.
Recent studies investigating the effects of training the bench press with added bands and chains, have confirmed that strength and power increased faster by using bands and chains than by using free weights alone.
The Study
In this 13 week study on the effects of training with elastic tension on the bench press, 11 men in their early 20s started with a 1 rep max (RM) baseline strength test.
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Tags: bands, chains, gain strength, powerlifting, strength, strength gain, strength training, weight traning, weightlifting
Posted in Exercise Equipment, Research, Weight Training | No Comments »
Friday, March 12th, 2010Increasing Your Vertical Jumping Ability
A single vertical jump for maximum height is one of the most intense exercises you can do.
Why? Because it requires you to utilize your entire lower body chain in a maximal effort contraction, to produce a maximal amount of force in a split second.
The important aspects of training to work on, to increase your vertical leap include:
- Squatting strength – Maximal leg strength transfers directly to a vertical jump. A strong 1 rep max = a big jump.
- Squatting speed – The faster you can squat, the more power you can generate, the higher you can jump.
- Squatting power – Tied in directly with speed and strength, squat heavier and squat faster and you will jump higher.
- Acceleration – You want to continue accelerating out of the hole all the way through the top of your jump.
- Single leg strength – To eliminate strength imbalances and to improve neuromuscular coordination, train your legs individually.
- Calf strength – Your calves are used at the end of the jump, so max calf strength can mean an extra inch on your vert.
- Sprint speed – Sprinting trains the Type-II Fast Twitch muscle fibers, which are what you need to attain your highest jump. Acceleration applies here as well.
- Hip drive – Your hips are responsible for a significant portion of jumping power from a parallel squat position to standing.
- Glute activation – Your glutes are responsible for driving you out of the hole at the bottom of a squat or jump.
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Tags: glutes, hips, jump squat, jumping, jumping rope, jumps, leaping, leg training, legs, plyometrics, squats, squatting, vertical
Posted in Conditioning, Fitness Tips, Weight Training, Workout Routines | 4 Comments »
Friday, February 12th, 2010At a body weight of 180 lbs, Willie Albert of Iron Will Strength and Fitness in Ottawa Ontario Canada performs 10 total rounds of barbell back squat with 445 lbs, standing military press with 135 lbs, and barbell deadlift with 425 lbs. He was attempting to complete this circuit for time and finished in 4:35.
For all you math geniuses, that would be a total of 10500 lbs of work in less than 5 minutes. He’s not lifting elite powerlifting numbers, but to complete 10 rounds of this in 4 and a half minutes is impressive to me. I bet if he were going for a 1 rm, he’d be squatting and pulling in the 600s, and would be shoulder pressing 200+.
Keep reading to view his video…
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Tags: Conditioning, Crossfit, hirt, Weight Training, weightlifting
Posted in Conditioning, HIRT Routines, Weight Training | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
Build Muscle, Burn Fat, Get Ripped
Originally posted: 1/27/10
Updates:
2/1/10 updated routine, added Excel spreadsheet workout logs)
3/8/10 added example HIIT routines for days 2, 4, and 6.
Many of you are asking for a full body workout routine to burn fat, so here you go.
I have even customized the program for both men and women.
You can skip the details and go straight to the routines if you wish:
The Program
We are integrating 3 full body training sessions with 3 HIIT routines and taking the 7th day off. Since the goal is fat loss, we are striving to add some muscle mass, maintain strength, and burn as many calories as possible.
This is accomplished by staying in a slightly higher rep range than we would normally use for strictly strength training, while using super-sets for most of our exercises. We add an optional set to the end of each workout in case you are able to finish the workout early.
Major compound exercises are rotated to prioritize a different muscle group on each of the 3 training sessions each week.
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Tags: Conditioning, fat loss, full body, hiit, lose fat, lose weight, weight loss, Weight Training, weightlifting, workout routine, Workout Routines
Posted in Conditioning, HIIT Routines, Weight Training, Workout Routines | 242 Comments »
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
Build Muscle, Burn Fat, Get Ripped
Originally posted: 1/26/10
Updates:
2/1/10 updated routine, added Excel spreadsheet workout logs)
3/8/10 added example HIIT routines for days 2, 4, and 6.
Many of you are asking for a full body workout routine to burn fat, so here you go.
I have even customized the program for both men and women.
You can skip the details and go straight to the routines if you wish:
The Program
We are integrating 3 full body training sessions with 3 HIIT routines and taking the 7th day off. Since the goal is fat loss, we are striving to add some muscle mass, maintain strength, and burn as many calories as possible.
This is accomplished by staying in a slightly higher rep range than we would normally use for strictly strength training, while using super-sets for most of our exercises. We add an optional set to the end of each workout in case you are able to finish the workout early.
Major compound exercises are rotated to prioritize a different muscle group on each of the 3 training sessions each week.
(more…)
Tags: Conditioning, fat loss, full body, hiit, lose fat, lose weight, weight loss, Weight Training, weightlifting, workout routine, Workout Routines
Posted in Conditioning, HIIT Routines, Weight Training, Workout Routines | 40 Comments »
Friday, January 22nd, 2010Strength Training is Good For Kids!
It’s official! After many long years of arguing with fools, I am validated! Based on hundreds of studies and thousands of hours of research, the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) have finally taken the position that age-appropriate resistance training is not only good for kids, but recommended.
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Tags: acsm, children, Kids, nsca, Research, strength, strength training, teenagers, Weight Training, weightlifting
Posted in Kids, Research, Weight Training | 7 Comments »
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
Gain Strength
Originally posted: 12/31/09
Updated: 1/20/10 (update rest time on HIRT circuits, added Excel spreadsheet workout logs)
This training routine is designed for you to gain strength. That’s it.
So you have already been through two or three Werewolf Training for Muscle Gain cycles. You gained 5-10 pounds of muscle in that time and you got a little stronger. You are psyched about your progress but you’re a little bored with the program.
It is time to change up your training a little bit, but you know you can’t jump right into a strict fat loss phase, or you risk losing most of your new muscle. What to do? What to do?
Use this menu to skip to:
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Tags: gain muscle, gain strength, mass, muscle gain, strength gain, taylor lautner, training, twilight, weight lifting, Weight Training, weightlifting
Posted in Weight Training, Workout Routines | 130 Comments »
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009I get plenty of questions in various comments throughout the website, but I also get comments and questions via the Project Swole Contact Form.
Generally I address those questions through e-mail, but often I do not have the time to reply to each and every question personally.
The category, Your Health Questions is a more proactive approach to answering your questions so that everyone can benefit from the Q & A.
Scott wrote:
“First off, I would like to say your site is great. I’ve learned a lot reading your articles.
I just had one question: when you say not to have an ‘arms day’, should I just include a few biceps and triceps exercises everyday? And how many different exercises of each should I do?”
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Tags: arms, biceps, triceps, Weight Training, weightlifting, Your Questions
Posted in Weight Training, Workout Routines, Your Questions | 23 Comments »
Wednesday, December 16th, 20091 Rep Max Calculator
I had published this post once before, but recently a couple people have asked for such a tool, so I’m busting it out again for all the new Project Swole readers.
There are many strength training programs that involve calculating your 1 rm or 1 repetition maximum. Some programs want you to use a % of your 1 rm, which is sometimes even harder to calculate.
Most of us do not how how to figure out this number without performing the actual rep itself. Use this easy calculator to get a basic idea of how much weight you can lift once.
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Tags: calculator, max, powerlifting, strength, weight lifting, Weight Training
Posted in Motivation, Weight Training, Workout Routines | 8 Comments »
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009Need another reason to add either HIIT or HIRT into your workout routine?
A university study has concluded that a combination of cross training and strength training produces the same strength adaptations as strength training alone, while also eliciting the wonderful benefits of cardiovascular conditioning.
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Tags: build muscle, fat loss, fitness, lose weight, training, weight lifting, weight loss, Weight Training, weightlifting, Workout Routines
Posted in Conditioning, HIIT Routines, Weight Training | 4 Comments »
Monday, November 23rd, 2009When lifting weights, there are many questions asked by both noobies and experienced lifters alike.
Some great weightlifting questions include:
- what are the best exercises?
Answer: view my series of best exercises posts. - how long should I workout?
Answer: HIIT: 20 mins, Weightlifting & Endurance Cardio: 45 mins - how many sets should I do?
Answer: That answer is going to require a dedicated post, so I’ll get to that shortly. - how many reps should I do?
Answer: read on and find out…
There are 3 main kinds of repetitions (reps) when it comes to weightlifting; certain rep and set schemes are used depending on your goals. Let’s examine scheme #1:
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Tags: Conditioning, reps, strongman, Weight Training, weightlifting
Posted in Conditioning, Weight Training | 7 Comments »
Monday, November 9th, 2009Jump squats are great.
This is an excellent sport specific exercise that can be used alongside plyometrics to help you increase your vertical jump.
Jump squats will also help you power through a plateau in your regular squat development by conditioning your quads and hips to power through the lockout at the top of the movement.
Jump squats are an excellent sport specific exercise that can be used to increase power for:
- Olympic weight lifters
- Olympic athletes that either throw (javelin, shot put) or jump (long jump, pole vault)
- Basketball players who need to jump high
- Football players who block or tackle
Add jump squats to your regular workout, your HIIT routine, your HIRT routine, or your sport specific training.
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Tags: back squat, barbell squat, jump squat, jumping, squat, squats, squatting, Weight Training, weightlifting
Posted in Exercise Technique, Weight Training | 9 Comments »
Thursday, July 9th, 2009Douglas Robb at HealthHabits posted the other day about the Occlusion/Kaatsu training method, which is popular in Japan. While not necessarily useful to me, I found it a very interesting read.
What Kaatsu Training Does
Kaatsu training looks like it can increase muscle hypertrophy significantly more than regular resistance training over an extremely short period of time. In fact the results of the studies show that 2 weeks of Kaatsu training increases muscle mass to a higher degree than 5 weeks of regular resistance training.
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Tags: build muscle, gain, gain muscle, kaatsu, mus, muscle gain, occlusion, weight, Weight Training, weightlifting
Posted in Research, Weight Training | 12 Comments »
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009All About the Rotator Cuff
We all need to take a second to examine the most frequently injured area of the shoulders: the rotator cuff. The muscles that make up the rotator cuff are small and can be strained easily.
The four small muscles that make up the rotator cuff:
- infraspinatus
- supraspinatus
- teres minor
- subscapularis
Each of these smaller muscles can easily be strained, pulled, or even sometimes overtrained. So important are each of the muscles of the rotator cuff, that once one muscle is damaged the whole cuff is thrown into disarray, often requiring rehab.
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Tags: injuries, injury, rotator cuff, shoulder, shoulders
Posted in Medical, Weight Training | 14 Comments »
Friday, May 15th, 2009I saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine last weekend and it was great. Many a-hole fanboys will hate on this movie because it doesn’t stay 100% true to the comic book origin of Wolverine or Deadpool, but those guys should just go see Star Trek or something, because Wolverine was just awesome.
Standing at 6’3, Hugh Jackman is looking pretty large and jacked these days and I was curious about what he did to prep for the Wolverine role. Here is what I could find out about Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine Workout.
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Tags: hugh jackman, strength training, weightlifting, wolverine, x-men, xmen
Posted in Celebrity, Conditioning, Motivation, Weight Training | 10 Comments »
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009This article is written by Kat Sanders, who regularly blogs on the topic of online surgical technician school at her blog iScrub. She welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: [email protected].
Why Women Need Muscles
There was a time when women were referred to as the weaker sex, but not anymore. While the feminists are doing all they can to prove that anything a man can do, a woman can do better, the women who are endowed with common sense are going ahead and putting their money where their mouth is by doing what’s good for them – training with weights and building their muscle mass even as they go in for regular cardio workouts.
Strength training is no longer a man’s world, and women are building muscles for reasons that vary from good health to looking good. And if you’re a woman who’s reading this and shaking your head that you’re never going to be seen with weights around you, read on to see why you must work on increasing your muscle mass:
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Tags: build muscle, female, women
Posted in Healthy Lifestyle, Weight Training | 6 Comments »
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009At one point someone asked me a question about squatting with bad knees. I knew a little bit about it, but I wanted to get more professional opinions before I wrote a full response.
I have compiled the results here and would like you to also read the resources listed at the bottom of this post for more information.
Much of this information was comprised from articles written by Dr. Fred Hatfield (aka Dr. Squat) and from the training certification guide from the ISSA.
Squats are both difficult to defend and difficult to disparage. There are pros and cons to both sides. Let’s examine the facts.
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Tags: health, knees, safety, squat
Posted in Weight Training, Your Questions | 23 Comments »
