Posts Tagged ‘training’
Monday, July 4th, 2011
Should Bodybuilders Train When They Are Sore?
This is one of the top offending bodybuilding myths. Have you ever canceled a workout or skipped training a body part because it felt sore, even though at least 48 hours had passed since you trained it? If you said “Yes”, then after reading this post you will never make that mistake again.
Your muscles will get sore when you use:
- heavy weights
- slow negatives
- forced negatives
- assisted negatives
- drop sets
- high volume
Do you need to avoid these training methods completely in order to prevent soreness, so that you can train again in two days? Not necessarily.
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Tags: bodybuilding, building muscle, doms, fitness, gain muscle, heavy, max, max effort, maximum effort, muscle growth, myth, powerlifting, sore, sore muscles, soreness, strength, strongman, training, weight lifting, weightlifting
Posted in Bodybuilding Myths | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011
Should Bodybuilders Do Cardio After Weight Training?
Spend some time in a corporate gym and you will see hundreds of bodybuilders lifting moderately heavy weight for sets of 10-15 reps, then you’ll see them hop on a StairMaster or elliptical machine for about 20-30 minutes of moderate intensity endurance cardio. There are many reasons for this behavior, the most common being that weight training is just a hell of a lot more fun than cardio.
Apparently the weights-first-cardio-second protocol is considered the most effective way for bodybuilders to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. But is it?
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Tags: bodybuilding, cardio, cardiovascular, Diet, endurance, exercise, fat loss, hiit, lifting, lose fat, myth, myths, training, Weight Training, weightlifting, workout
Posted in Bodybuilding Myths | 9 Comments »
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011
Should Bodybuilders Train to Failure?
“No pain, no gain!”
You hit the gym like a maniac. You want every rep to burn. Every set has to be a max rep attempt. Maybe you even enlist a spotter to help you eek out an extra rep or two. Is training to failure or past failure a good practice for bodybuilders?
The Myth
“The only rep that counts, is the one you can’t finish.”
To grow as a bodybuilder you need to push every set to failure. That’s how Arnold and all the great 70’s bodybuilders trained, right?
Some of the following techniques, called “Weider Training Principles” are used to take each set past failure:
- forced reps
- forced negatives
- rest pause
- partial reps
- drop sets
This is how bodybuilders have trained for years and it’s how bodybuilders should train today. Is it right?
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Tags: athletes, body building, bodybuilding, exercise, failure, fitness, myths, train, training, Weight Training, weightlifting, workout
Posted in Bodybuilding Myths | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
Would you rather look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club or Chris Hemsworth in Thor? Fitness model or super hero?
The Fight Club fitness look comes from eating little food, doing lots of cardio, and lifting light weights for high reps. Is that really what you want? I’m going to guess that most Swole readers would prefer the Chris Hemsworth, Hugh Jackman look.
So how did Hemsworth transition from the fitness look to the super hero look? The simple answer is, lots of protein and heavy compound weight lifting. Just like Werewolf Muscle Training and Swole 3×5.
Let me tell you a little more about the Chris Hemsworth Thor workout.
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Tags: bulk, celebrity, Chris Hemsworth, gain muscle, movies, ripped, Thor, training, workout
Posted in Celebrity, Weight Training, Workout Routines | 12 Comments »
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.
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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.
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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, February 1st, 2011
Intermittent Fasting Part 3 – Training to Burn Fat
And so, faithful readers, we have arrived at the final installment of our intermittent fasting series. In part 1 I gave you a brief overview as to what intermittent fasting is and what some of the benefits are. In part 2, I laid out the guiding blueprint to help you create your own nutrition plan, but today we’re gonna talk about how to create the sexy via resistance training.
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| Here are the results of Roger’s recent bout with Intermittent Fasting – Nice work Rog! |
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Tags: Diet, dieting, eating, fast, fasting, fat loss, food, intermittent fasting, leangains, lose fat, lose weight, nutrition, training, weight loss
Posted in Diet, Intermittent Fasting | 7 Comments »
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern Workout: The People’s Choice in Brightest Day
Guest post by: Chris Cannon
Is there a hotter commodity in Hollywood today than Ryan Reynolds?
The Vancouver, Canada-born actor (b.1976) has built an impressive T.V. and movie portfolio over a two-decade career. Best known for his roles in romantic comedies (“Rom-Coms”) like “Just Friends” (2005), “Definitely Maybe” (2008), and the blockbuster “The Proposal” (2009), Reynolds has also quietly built an impressive action hero portfolio.
Many of us recall his portrayal of Hannibal King in “Blade: Trinity” (2004), where his chiseled “six-pack” physique was prominently featured. More recently, Ryan played the swordsman-mercenary Deadpool in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009) opposite Hugh Jackman, and is slated for the title role in Warner Bros. and DC Comics’ “Green Lantern“, due out in summer 2011.
Other personal accomplishments include being named People Magazine’s “Sexist Man Alive” for 2010, and the new face for Hugo Boss fragrances.
Ryan Reynolds also happens to be married to actor Scarlett Johansson, GQ’s 2010 “Babe of the Year”.
Some guys have all the luck…
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Tags: 6 pack, abs, celebrity, Conditioning, Diet, fitness, Green Lantern, Guest Post, nutrition, Ryan Reynolds, six pack, training, workout
Posted in Celebrity, Weight Training | 24 Comments »
Friday, September 10th, 2010
Today’s guest post is by Clint Nielsen. He has 10 years of experience with fitness and nutrition. Clint runs a no-nonsense health and fitness blog over at Crude Fitness which is all about helping others achieve their fitness goals without the gimmicks currently being promoted in the fitness industry. Check it out.
Every time I set foot in the gym, I see people that haven’t the slightest clue as to why they are there, nor what they should be doing.
I often see them struggling with weights that are way too heavy or i find gym-goers that are training with the intensity of a sloth on Valium.
I’m not trying to be sexist here by any means, as these traits often apply to both genders.
Without further hesitation, here are the Top 5 things women do that hinder their progress in the gym:
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Tags: crude fitness, fitness, Guest Post, myths, training, women
Posted in Fitness Tips | 12 Comments »
Monday, August 9th, 2010
How to Increase Your Squat By 100 Pounds in 10 Weeks
Update: Here is an old post I found about increasing your squat strength. I’m not sure that anyone ever really gave me much positive feedback on it, so I’m posting it again in case anyone wants to take a stab at putting 100 pounds on their squat in 10 weeks.
The squat is arguably the best exercise that any athlete can perform. Overhead press, bench press, and deadlifts rank right up there too, but I digress… No one wants to have a weak squat. To be considered ‘really strong’ you should be able to squat 2x your bodyweight.
Back in college I was regularly squatting 450 or so at a fluctuating bodyweight of 190-210 lbs. I have no genetic gifts when it comes to muscle size and strength. If I can lift 450 anyone can, so man up and put in some effort.
The goals of this workout plan are:
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Tags: how to, intensity, powerlifting, squats, squatting, training, weightlifting, Workout Routines
Posted in Weight Training, Workout Routines | 79 Comments »
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Back in the day you might have been told to avoid situps because they can strain your lower back and neck. That could be true if you have bad form, but it is generally a myth to avoid doing situps in favor of crunches.
It is a myth perpetuated in the 1990s and early 2000s by foo foo personal trainers trying to convince middle-aged overweight Americans that they don’t have to do situps to get good abs, and in fact doing situps is ‘bad’.
Bollocks I say! We can file that one up there with high carb / low fat diets and curling in the squat rack.
To protect your neck, read the post on How to Reduce Neck Strain.
To protect your back, the answer is simple: keep your back as straight as possible throughout the movement, lay on a towel or mat to protect your tailbone, and avoid anchoring your feet as that can sometimes cause lower back strain.
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Tags: abdominals, abs, crunches, situps, training, Training Articles
Posted in Fitness Tips | 14 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, November 24th, 2009
Need 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, December 15th, 2008
I recently discovered sandbag training. Similar to kettlebell training, Cross Fit training, and P90X training; this is a revolutionary form of training that should really be considered for functional workouts.
Now, you might laugh at me for calling any of those training methodologies ‘revolutionary’, but they are all training styles that fall outside of strict free weight training, cardio training, powerlifting, or any such well-defined training methodology fad. Of course, all of these idea have led to eye-opening, insightful ideas about training and conditioning.
So, let me introduce sandbag training. Allow me to entice you with this one video, and later I will write more about this methodology with some links to get sandbag training equipment. Anyway, check this out:
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Tags: sandbag, training
Posted in Conditioning | 2 Comments »
Thursday, June 12th, 2008
Calves are a weak spot for most weightlifters and athletes. Your average male weightlifter doesn’t put the same effort into his legs as he does into his chest and biceps. Well I am here to tell you that it’s actually easy to develop some meaty ass calves as long as you’re doing your foundation exercises.
Calf Physiology
Bones and Joints
The lower leg is comprised of two long bones, the tibia and fibula. The tibia is the larger of the two and is located toward the middle of the lower leg. The fibula is the smaller bone and it is located on the outside of the lower leg.
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Tags: calf training, calves, routines, training
Posted in Weight Training, Workout Routines | 14 Comments »
