Posts Tagged ‘Conditioning’
Saturday, May 11th, 2013
Staying Safe at CrossFit
CrossFit is a great way to increase your level of health and fitness and stay in shape. It can help you to condition your body, build muscle, and improve cardiopulmonary function. Because it combines aerobics, gymnastics, weight training, and dynamic exercises into one comprehensive routine, you’ll get all the benefits of hitting multiple stations at the gym.
The diverse array of exercises can be tailored to your specific wants and needs, offering you the ability to reach your fitness goals more quickly than you might with traditional types of workouts, as well as keep the process fun and interesting thanks to changing routines.
Like any form of physical fitness, the practice of CrossFit isn’t without its risks for accident and injury, which means you need to observe proper safety tips when participating in such exercises. But also, because you perform so many different exercises, there are many movements to master. Performing them awkwardly for the first time, could land you will a sprain or strain.
Here are just a few tips to help you stay safe and ensure that you don’t get set back by injuries.
(more…)
Tags: Conditioning, Crossfit, exercise, fitness, health, injuries, injury, Weight Training, weightliftig, working out, workouts
Posted in Conditioning, Fitness Tips, Injuries | No Comments »
Friday, April 26th, 2013
One of the best things that you should consider when you want to stay healthy and fit is your workout routines. You should not only focus in the food that you are consuming because the body needs some activities that can help regulate the blood and strengthen the muscles.
Being fit means having the ability to perform different things without getting tired easily. On the other side, being healthy means being able to live everyday with the absence of different sicknesses. Many people are living without knowing that they are no longer healthy because they do not have active lifestyles.
If you try to get away from the daily routine and try to engage yourself in different activities that requires strength and agility, you will notice that you are not fitted for such activities because you lack the needed strength for such activities.
Simple Exercises for Conditioning
With the scenario given above, you will realize that being healthy is not just about being able to survive. In order for you to know that you are truly healthy, you should be able to function well no matter what type of activity you face.
In order to make sure that you are healthy and fit, you should look for the exercises that you can do regularly. Here are two of the best workout routines that you can choose from:
(more…)
Tags: balance, Conditioning, exercise, fitness, Fitness Tips, strength, tips, workout
Posted in Conditioning, Fitness Tips | No Comments »
Monday, April 22nd, 2013
How to ramp up the speed for better fat loss and fitness gains
If you want to run faster, then you need to start running faster. This may sound as a cliché but because it’s true.
Speedwork—in all its forms—is key for unlocking your full potential as a runner. Not only that, speedwork will make you fitter, enhance the range of movement in your joints, boost power and drive in your lower body, and it will eventually help you to run harder for longer.
Furthermore, Speedwork is key for weight loss. According to many studies, interval running—a form of speed work— burns up to three times more calories than sticking to a steady and easy pace. Of course, long runs at a low intensity have their benefits, but when it comes to burning the flab, speedwork wins the race.
(more…)
Tags: cardio, Conditioning, exercise, fitness, health, high intensity, hiit, intervals, speed work, speedwork, working out, workouts
Posted in Conditioning, Fitness Tips, HIIT Routines | No Comments »
Thursday, April 11th, 2013
We all have someone that we envy. You know what I mean — the lifter with the toned abs and softball-sized biceps you can’t help but covet.
If you’re a beginner, getting from point A to point Bodybuilding Pro is just as hard as learning to ride a bike blindfolded. Fortunately, there are many successful weightlifters willing to share the tricks of the trade.
Here are a few tips from the pros to get you started on creating your own envy-worthy body.
If You Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail
“Lack of planning” is among the top 10 reasons beginner bodybuilders fail to achieve their goals. Planning daily workouts takes time, dedication, and some exercise research. It’s definitely not the most exciting part of training. But you won’t build bulging biceps and washboard abs by sporadically visiting the gym and dinking around on random equipment.
A good plan — like those experienced builders follow — doesn’t have to be elaborate.
Here are 4 basic elements to get you started:
(more…)
Tags: balance, beginner, Conditioning, exercise, experience, fitness, Fitness Tips, strength, tips, workout
Posted in Bodybuilding, Diet, Fitness Tips, Weight Training | No Comments »
Sunday, April 7th, 2013
Strength and Balance Conditioning
When it comes to exercise, people often find one type of workout they like and focus on it almost exclusively. For some people this means jogging until they can run a marathon. Others engage in weight training in order to build muscles, bulk up, or bench press their own body weight. Still others rely on yoga and Pilates to help them increase flexibility and muscle tone while restoring a mind-body connection or adding a spiritual element to their workout routine.
The point is that it’s easy to get stuck in a rut with one type of exercise. Sometimes we’re seeking specific results, but more often than not we simply end up doing what we like. But this may not be the best way to increase your overall fitness since the practice tends to focus on only one benefit of exercise at the expense of others.
So if you’re looking to improve both your strength and balance, here are a few tips that can help you to reach your fitness goals.
(more…)
Tags: balance, Conditioning, exercise, fitness, Fitness Tips, strength, tips, workout
Posted in Conditioning, Fitness Tips | No Comments »
Friday, April 5th, 2013
Are Martial Arts Good Exercise?
If you know anything about martial arts, you are probably aware that they often require intensive training to master, which can make them an excellent form of exercise. But you may also know that there are several different disciplines under the umbrella of martial arts and that they differ in both goals and practice.
Jiujitsu is a form of martial art that focuses on grappling, striking, throws, joint locks, and even some weapons mastery. As such, you might wonder if it can offer you the cardio benefits inherent in some other forms of martial arts.
While grappling and striking may certainly help you to gain strength and agility, the form might not necessarily give you the calorie-burning workout needed to reach your weight-loss goals. However, there’s more to this martial art than getting your opponent into a figure-four leg lock on the mat. And it can definitely play a role in your weight-loss regimen.
(more…)
Tags: Conditioning, exericise, fighting, fitness, grappling, jiu jitsu, Martial Arts, mma, Sports, workout
Posted in Conditioning, Martial Arts, Sports | No Comments »
Thursday, March 21st, 2013
Why CrossFit Could be Good for Everyone
CrossFit is one the fastest growing fitness programs in the United States, but why has it been so successful?
High intensity interval training, weight lifting, Olympic weight lifting, gymnastics, and rowing have all been around for a long time. However, CrossFit utilizes all of these movements and creates a complete program that takes the best of all the different disciplines.
This might seem overwhelming at first, but many CrossFit gyms allow scaling down to what you’re comfortable with, a trainer always watching you, and usually a two to three week starter program. This allows anyone of any age or fitness level to take advantage of CrossFit.
(more…)
Tags: Conditioning, Crossfit, exercise, fitness, health, Weight Training, weightliftig, working out, workouts
Posted in Conditioning, Fitness Tips, Weight Training | 2 Comments »
Friday, March 15th, 2013
For many of us the hardest part about working out is motivation. This could be due to the fact that you haven’t made fitness a priority; when you’ve always got something more important on your plate it’s all too easy to put your health on the back burner.
Or maybe you’ve been exercising diligently and you’re simply not seeing the results you want, a situation that can be frustrating and discouraging.
It could even be that you simply don’t find your exercise routine particularly challenging or fun.
Whatever your reasons for skipping the workout day after day, the truth is that you need to find ways to get motivated, and interval training can provide you with several benefits that might just move you to get your butt off the couch and into gear.
Here are a few benefits of interval training to consider:
(more…)
Tags: Conditioning, fitness, high intensity interval training, high intensity training, hiit, interval training, intervals, Weight Training, weightlifting
Posted in Conditioning, Fitness Tips, HIIT Routines | 1 Comment »
Thursday, February 28th, 2013
Everything You Need to Know Barbell Complexes
Hitting a plateau can drive you insane. Some people take months just to bump their bench press up by five pounds. A plateau is a good indicator that there’s something about your routine that just isn’t working for you anymore, and it means that it’s time for a change. Adding barbell complexes to your routine is a great technique for breaking plateaus. Barbell complexes are difficult, requiring you to perform several barbell exercises in a row as one set with no rest in between sets.
Benefits of Barbell Complexes
As a form of cardio, barbell complexes have several benefits over traditional cardio workouts. Barbell complexes burn a ton of calories but do not release cortisol the same way traditional cardio does. Cortisol is a stress hormone partly responsible for inducing fat storage in the body. However, barbell complexes release anabolic hormones that help you cut fat, making barbell complexes a great tool for cutting fat while you get out of your plateau.
The time required for traditional cardio can also be a bit of a drag, clocking in at thirty minutes or more. Barbell complexes are very fast-paced, and depending on how many sets you do, you may finish in ten to fifteen minutes – half the time of traditional cardio.
(more…)
Tags: barbell complex, cleans, Conditioning, exercise, fitness, Olympic complex, overhead press, snatch, Weight Training, weightlifting
Posted in Conditioning, HIIT Routines, HIRT Routines, Weight Training | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 12th, 2012
How to Eat Properly When Running to Lose Weight
Aside from getting out there and running some serious interval sprints, losing weight is a matter of calories in versus calories out.
When it comes to the burning side, running is one of the best training programs out there for burning the extra pounds and keeping them off for good. Not only that, running is cardiovascular exercise per excellence, thus doing it a regular basis will boost your endurance levels, help you ward off heart related problems, and get you in the best shape of your life.
Nonetheless, backing up your running program with a proper diet is the surest way for permanent weight loss results. For that, here are the diet guidelines you’ll need to lose the weight without sacrificing performance and energy for the workout.
(more…)
Tags: cardio, Conditioning, fat loss, lose fat, lose weight, run, running, sprinting, sprints, weight loss
Posted in Conditioning, Diet | No Comments »
Sunday, May 6th, 2012
If you want a debriefing on my most recent stance on endurance cardio versus high intensity intervals, check out this post:
High Intensity Intervals are Far Superior to Endurance Cardio
Once you understand how useful HIIT training is for fat loss, read about the following routines that you can use to burn fat and get in awesome cardiovascular shape.
(more…)
Tags: cardio, cardiovascular, Conditioning, fat loss, fitness, lose fat, lose weight, routines, training, weight loss, Workout Routines
Posted in Conditioning, HIIT Routines, Workout Routines | 1 Comment »
Thursday, November 10th, 2011
Meals That Maximize Your Performance
Willpower is not enough. Food is what fuels your training and performance. Athletes make eating meals a conscious process, and they put knowledge of nutrition and planning into it.
I have found that performance outcomes can differ by seconds, which means the right muscle didn’t get the right fuel. Every bite that you eat counts. In working with athletes and their nutrition needs, I’ve found a few simple rules that help you keep food as fuel at the forefront of your mind and help ensure that you get the proteins, carbs, fats, vitamins, minerals and fluids.
Here we go:
(more…)
Tags: Conditioning, Diet, exercise, fitness, food, meals, nutrition, performance
Posted in Diet | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
HIRT and Swolen is a High Intensity Resistance Training routine that you can use to either burn fat, build muscle, or maybe even both. It is a circuit of compound exercises performed back-to-back-to-back without rest (sometimes called a giant set), followed by a taxing abdominal superset.
You can use HIRT and Swolen twice a week with light weight in addition to your standard workout routine, if you are looking to get ripped. If your only goal is to build muscle, then use more weight and opt for 90 seconds rest between sets, but be careful not to overtrain if you are still performing your standard workout routine.
Prescription:
- 5 sets
- 5 reps per set
- no rest during the set, that means no rest between exercise and no rest between reps
- 1 rep means you have to complete each of the exercises back-to-back-to-back once
- Level 1: 90 seconds rest between sets
- Level 2: 60 seconds rest between sets
- Level 3: 30 seconds rest between sets
(more…)
Tags: circuit training, Conditioning, fat loss, fitness, hirt, lose fat, lose weight, Olympic lifts, resistance training, weight loss
Posted in Conditioning, HIRT Routines, Weight Training, Workout Routines | 13 Comments »
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
I’ll get around to writing up a more detailed explanation shortly. For now, here’s a great video showing you how to do windshield wipers. It’s not an easy exercise but it will pay off with wonderous results.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvN7uGX5QP4
Tags: 6 pack, ab training, abs, adominals, Conditioning, exercise, fitness, ripped abs, windshield wipers
Posted in Conditioning, Videos | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
Someone, I think in the forums or maybe in a comment to another post, asked earlier today why gymnasts are so muscular even though they don’t lift weights, and if starting gymnastics training would be a good idea for him to gain muscle.
Regarding the question “why are gymnasts so muscular?” I direct your attention to the following video, which captures mere school girls training for gymnastics. Observe the 5 million jumps, flips, hand stands, band training, and sprinting. Even when you use only bodyweight for these exercises, the power and repetitions over time are going to build really strong muscles – in the core, arms, legs, everywhere.
(more…)
Tags: bodybuilding, Conditioning, gymnastics
Posted in Bodybuilding, Conditioning, Kids, Sports, Videos | 2 Comments »
Friday, April 15th, 2011
Update: Here’s an old post I put together right quick for someone who just needs a quick workout at home. Originally posted on May 3, 2007.
At times you will find yourself unable to get to the gym or dojo. Things in life just happen. So we do we do in a time like this? Strongmen will find that keeping various equipments around the house such as a sled, a large tire, a yoke, a keg, a sledgehammer, or even a 10lb wedge for splitting logs, will keep us completely satisfied when we need to workout but can’t make it to the gym. Therefore, this article is targeted more towards the people that are vacationing or on a business trip away from home, and perhaps for those strongmen that want a change from log presses, keg carries, and truck pulls, for a week or so.
(more…)
Tags: body weight, Conditioning, Workout Routines
Posted in Business, Conditioning, Workout Routines | 12 Comments »
Wednesday, March 16th, 2011
With so many at-home cookie-cutter workout routines out there, I figured it would be a great idea to discuss one of the best: P90X. After all, P90X is pretty cheap compared to paying a gym membership and hiring a personal trainer.
Will P90X turn you into a bodybuilder, a powerlifter, an Olympic gymnast, a marathon runner, or a sport-specific athlete? Oh, hell no!
Could P90X possibly get you in the best shape of your life with a minimal initial investment? Could P90X strengthen your body, improve your cardiovascular fitness, help heal nagging injuries, and dial in your 6-pack abs for summer? Oh, hell yes!
Click here to check out all of the Project Swole P90X articles, tips, tricks, hints, and reviews.
P90X Has Transformed These Five Men
Dale Bramall, Altaf Rahamatulla, Kellend Brookover, Nick Baker, and Derek Wheatley all have written testimonials about their motivation for and their journey using P90X workout DVD and their full weight loss program, which is a 90 day program with an exercise DVD, training in how to portion foods, which foods to choose, and a coaching system that has worked very well for all five of these men.
(more…)
Tags: Conditioning, dvd, exercise, fat loss, fitness, lose fat, lose weight, P90X, routine, Testimonials, weight loss, Weight Training, workout, workout routine, Workout Routines
Posted in Conditioning | 1 Comment »
Saturday, March 12th, 2011
With so many at-home cookie-cutter workout routines out there, I figured it would be a great idea to discuss one of the best: P90X. After all, P90X is pretty cheap compared to paying a gym membership and hiring a personal trainer.
Will P90X turn you into a bodybuilder, a powerlifter, an Olympic gymnast, a marathon runner, or a sport-specific athlete? Oh, hell no!
Could P90X possibly get you in the best shape of your life with a minimal initial investment? Could P90X strengthen your body, improve your cardiovascular fitness, help heal nagging injuries, and dial in your 6-pack abs for summer? Oh, hell yes!
Click here to check out all of the Project Swole P90X articles, tips, tricks, hints, and reviews.
How to Lose Weight with P90X
PX90 suggests that a ninety-day weight loss regime jumped into with both feet will start you on your weight loss journey. The program implies that shocking yourself with the first 30 days of their system will get your metabolism going, and because of the results you see, you will be gung-ho for the rest of their ninety-day program.
(more…)
Tags: build muscle, circuit training, Conditioning, exercise, fat loss, fitness, gain muscle, interval training, lose fat, lose weight, P90X, Product Reviews, reviews, training, weight loss, workout routine, Workout Routines
Posted in Motivation, Product Reviews | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
With so many at-home cookie-cutter workout routines out there, I figured it would be a great idea to discuss one of the best: P90X. After all, P90X is pretty cheap compared to paying a gym membership and hiring a personal trainer.
Will P90X turn you into a bodybuilder, a powerlifter, an Olympic gymnast, a marathon runner, or a sport-specific athlete? Oh, hell no!
Could P90X possibly get you in the best shape of your life with a minimal initial investment? Could P90X strengthen your body, improve your cardiovascular fitness, help heal nagging injuries, and dial in your 6-pack abs for summer? Oh, hell yes!
Click here to check out all of the Project Swole P90X articles, tips, tricks, hints, and reviews.
What is P90X?
You may already of heard of P90X (other names: Power 90X, X90 Workout, and PX90) either by way of TV and radio commercials or word of mouth. And you may be intrigued by the numerous reports of success enjoyed by people who have shed unwanted pounds, and by the images of people who have used the P90X program to work their way to a toned and attractive physique.
The collection of articles I will be presenting delves into the potential of the P90X program and whatit has to offer you as an individual. I consider it my job to provide sufficient information in this series to answer any and all questions you might have about P90X.
(more…)
Tags: build muscle, circuit training, Conditioning, exercise, fat loss, fitness, gain muscle, interval training, lose fat, lose weight, P90X, Product Reviews, reviews, training, weight loss, workout routine, Workout Routines
Posted in Product Reviews | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011
This post was written back in 2008, but the poll didn’t get many votes and the post didn’t get any comments. Now that Project Swole has much more traffic and somewhat of a loyal community, I went and rewrote some of this piece and I’m re-posting it today so that we can get more comments and votes. I think it will be an interesting study into the training background of most Swole readers.
When and why did you first learn about exercising?
We all know how beneficial exercise is to maintaining a healthy body. Kids don’t usually know this and teenagers don’t usually care. Typically it is up to parents and schools to educate kids about exercise and nutrition, ’cause quite frankly they aren’t very likely to do it themselves.
I learned about exercising in junior high school when some of my friends started curling and bench pressing to build the “show muscles” for the girls. I even did some curling and bench pressing myself, but not more than a couple times a week, and I didn’t build any significant muscle mass. My real education in weight training came in high school… I’ll talk about that more below.
(more…)
Tags: Conditioning, fitness, Kids, Personal, Question of the Week, Sports, teenagers
Posted in Question of the Week | 16 Comments »
