Health Articles for Bodybuilding

Fitness equipment is basically anything that is used, or can be used, to get in or stay in good physical condition. Fitness equipment may be something that you have at home or something that is found in a professional gym. This type of equipment can be used for aerobic exercise or strength training, depending on the equipment involved and how it is being used.

Types of Fitness Equipment

There are many different types of fitness equipment. Fitness equipment can range from something easily recognized as such to something as simple (and overlooked) as a jump rope. Fitness equipment can include:

Treadmills
Treadmills are one common form of fitness equipment. These may be found in gyms as well as in homes. Treadmills are generally used to exercise aerobically. Treadmills are sometimes thought of as a staple in gym equipment as walking and running (when advisable for a persons current physical condition) are good basic exercises to help get ones whole body in shape.

Stationary Bikes
Stationary bikes may be found in both gyms and households, although due to the cost of many newer models they are more easily accessed in a gym. Stationary bikes are mainly used for aerobic training, although they can conceivably be used to strength-train as well.

Weight Machines
Weight-lifting machines can be found in just about any size and shape. They are used to exercise nearly every muscle in the body, even ones you never knew you had! The general focus of weight machines is strength-training, although they can be used in certain ways to help increase aerobic fitness as well. Gyms generally have many different types of weight machines. These machines are generally set up in such a way that they are relatively safe and easy to use. Weight machines can also be purchased for your home, but these home gyms do not necessarily have all of the features included in gym equipment and are not as specialized.

Free Weights
Free weights are usually used for the same general purpose as weight machines, namely strength training. Free weights are many times preferred to weight machines by individuals that are trying to gain muscle or bulk-up. Free weights can be more difficult to use and dangerous than weight machines when they are not used properly. A spotter should always be used when a person is working out with free weights. Free weights are common in gyms and in households, although the diversity will be greater in a gym.

Achieving lifetime fitness can only happen if an exercise plan can be adjusted to suit any stage of life. Physical fitness and health should be strived for throughout our lives and is not limited to youth. As we get older, the need for physical fitness is even more important to protect against injury or disease. It is vital that we recall that our bodies our not able for the same level of exercise throughout our lives, however. Maintaining an overly strenuous exercise regime in later life could deteriorate our health and prevent lifetime fitness from being achieved.

Maintaining a regular exercise and a healthy diet as part of a lifetime effort is the best way to achieve lifetime fitness as it is far more influential on our bodies to continue the efforts rather than stop and start like so many of us do when we grow unmotivated. Sometimes the easiest way to remain physically fit is to join a health club or gym.

Lifetime Fitness Programs

The Lifetime Fitness gyms and programs are some of the most well known health club chains in the United States. They claim to cater to the needs of the whole family and there are a variety of membership options available. For a lot of members, the incentives to join include the fact that some of the membership schemes enable them to use the facilities in a number of different clubs. Each Lifetime Fitness health club can have variations in the available facilities; which is why members might enjoy the option to travel. The different memberships available cater to the individual as well as corporate groups.

A number of important services may also entice members to the Life Fitness programs and gyms such as child center, life spa and salon, running club and personal trainers. Nutrition coaching and the weight loss group sessions are all part of the attractive services available. Lifetime Fitness clubs are more expensive variations on normal gyms but they are a private business and failure to stick to the rules could result in a ban. Personal training is extremely popular as many people prefer an individualized plan that suits them alone instead of participating in a generic scheme. There are one-on-one programs, group programs and specialty programs available in the personal training services offered by Lifetime Fitness. The programs on offer are designed to change a persons approach to their lifestyle and long term fitness training rather than being a shortcut to fit into a smaller dress size for a special occasion.

Physical fitness has remained a buzz word in peoples vocabulary for many years. The term is an often repeated one that acts as a sweeping generalization used to describe getting in shape. Then again, the term getting in shape is a sweeping generalization as well. Part of the reasons that generalizations are made is because physical fitness can refer to a significant number of different areas that comprise the totality of exercise programs. Considering the fact that a broad based cross training regiment is more desirable than an over-specialized one, making such generalizations is not too, too bad. However, categorization needs to be employed at some point in order to pinpoint what type of specific workout you wish to perform. If you want to burn fat, you probably will want to avoid a mass building workout since mass building is not known for raising heart rates. So, in order to get the most out of a particular physical fitness program, it becomes necessary to categorize and define the specific purposes for the program.

Fat Burning

When you consumer calories that you do not expend, the excess calories will be stored as fat. If you are ingesting a diet high in saturated fat or refined sugars, then the volume of excess calories you consume will be so high that storing excess fat becomes almost unavoidable, In order to eliminate such stored fat, a physical fitness program designed to raise ones heart rate and burn stored fat for energy must be utilized. Such exercises include: running, kickboxing, swimming, rope jumping or any other type of activity that requires movement.

Increasing Muscle

In order to increase muscle mass, the muscles must be overloaded with stress by progressive resistance (weight lifting) so as to stimulate the expansion of muscle size in order to reduce the resistance. Basic compound moves such as bench presses, pull ups, squats and military presses can all accomplish this goal. (On a side note: increased muscle mass will lead to fat burning as well as muscle will metabolize stored fat in order to maintain size)

Expanding Endurance

This is probably one of the more difficult areas of physical fitness because it involves increasing ones oxygen capacity as well as reducing ones muscle fatigue threshold. The exercises required for such increases are difficult and include sprint, plyo-metric exercises and weight lifting maxing. While these physical fitness programs are difficult, they also yield significant results. It is advised, however, to build up to them slowly.

There is no shortage of people wanting to lose weight and I believe that this is one of those things that is not likely to be changing anytime soon. So here is one of what is probably the easiest tips for losing weight you'll ever hear about along the lines of losing weight in ways that you may not have thought of before. So let's just go ahead and take a closer look at why this concept is included in an exercise and fitness oriented website.

Here is a magical nugget of thought provoking wonder that will help someone in their quest to shed a few pounds without them having to really work all that hard at achieving it.

It sort of follows what I tend to talk a lot about where you really should spend a lot less time in front of the television. This involves one of the easiest of all exercises to do. And when you knuckle down to doing it on a regular basis, it really does help you to lose weight. Don't be too shocked when you try it for yourself and after a few weeks begin to really notice a marked difference in your fitness levels and health in general.

Walking is Exercise

Plain, good old fashioned walking has a lot more going for it than many people realize. For a start, it gets you out of the house and into the fresh air, which is always beneficial. If you can do that on a bright sunny day, then the sun will lift your mood and bring a more positive feeling within you. Exposure to the sun also helps your body to produce vitamin D, which is essential for enabling your body to efficiently absorb calcium for strong bones. Just not too much all in one go because of the dangers of skin cancer. Another bonus to spending some time in the outdoors with all that natural daylight is that it helps yoru body produce more of the natural feel good hormone, Serotonin. This is a huge mood booster when you get it in the right quantities and it can even help to dispel depression in some patients.

But what is usually recommended are bursts of between 30 minutes to an hour of brisk walking twice a day, once in the morning and once again in the evening. As long as you put some effort into your walking and don't simply amble along, then you'll raise your heart rate and force your muscles to do some work, which, as long as you do it for more than twenty minutes, will cause your body to begin to burn some of the excess stored fat as energy to fuel those muscles!

Walking on its own is better than no exercise at all, but of course you will get more benefit if you watch what you eat and mix your exercises up a little for the best strategy to lose weight. Then you can include a nice, enjoyable long walk in the sunshine into your daily list of activities that not only get you exercised and improving your fitness levels, but also lifts your mood and puts a spring in your step. Literally!

Of course we all know that in order to lose body fat we need to burn more calories on a regular basis. I’m going to share a few super simple fat loss tips that it will make the process so much easier!

A nutritious meal plan in combination with following a consistent workout program is the best way to lose weight successfully but you can also burn more calories on top of that by increasing your ‘incidental activity’. Incidental activity or exercise is that which occurs during our everyday normal routine, like climbing the stairs at home or work, walking the dog or scrubbing the floor. Incidental activity isn’t something you would count as exercise necessarily, but it does indeed burn calories. If you consciously focus on increasing your incidental activity in addition to following a healthy weight loss program, losing weight becomes much easier.

There are a number of ways to burn more calories through incidental exercise. I’ve listed a few examples below and I encourage you to be creative and resourceful in coming up with some of your own. Share your ideas with your fellow TpxMuscle members by posting a comment after the post!

• Always take the stairs! Ignore the elevators and escalators!
• Walk to work or ride your bike
• Park at the far end of the shopping center parking lot
• Take the dog for an extra walk or two
• Spend more time in the garden or doing housework
• Make a habit of going for an evening stroll after dinner
• Window shop
• Walk the golf course instead of using a cart
• Dance in your living room
• Play tag or hopscotch with your kids
• Make the most of your TV watching time and ride an exercise bike
• Hand wash the car instead of driving through the car wash

Don’t be shy! Let us know what you do to burn more calories throughout your day!

Weightlifting and spending time at your local gym are an important part of building self-confidence, self-discipline, and blowing off steam. Whether you want to build muscle, lose weight, or just keep active, lifting weights also has effects of increasing endorphins and resultant happiness, and the activity often carries over to a can-do attitude in other areas of your life.

Weightlifting: A Little Bit of Weight Goes a Long Way

Weightlifting helps build a solid core not only physically, but emotionally. The choice and consequent determination involved in intentionally lifting weights includes an inherently positive, forward-moving psychological benefit. As Arnold Schwarzenegger said, weight training not only strengthens the body, it also "tones the spirit." Indeed, weightlifting not only lets you blow off steam, it puts you firmly behind the wheel of your physical fitness destiny. And once you experience being your own captain in one aspect of life, other aspects of your life will become invested with more willpower and discernment.

Motivation: Getting Pumped Up

Pay attention to how you are feeling. Sensitivity to your body is one of the hallmarks of a successful weightlifter and bodybuilder. If you're feeling sluggish and low-energy, consider just going for a short jog around your neighbourhood instead. Learn to read your emotions and your body's feelings and it will help a lot. Wear light clothing, not large baggy heavy-fabric shirts or pants. Weightlifting gloves are also often a good choice, particularly if the grip on free weights (the ones in the racks at your gym) are heavily scored and will cut your bare hands.
If you are in the mood to pump some steel it is best to do some stretching before lifting weights, and visualizing your exercises just before or in-between doing them. You may even go so far as to complete the motions without weights before doing them with weights. Listening to music may also be helpful addition to your weightlifting routine, and is recommended by famed bodybuilders such as Sylvester Stallone.

In terms of music, listen to whatever turns your crank; in his book on weightlifting, which is mentioned later in this article, Stallone talks about always being ready to switch it up, to keep the high energy going, and relates a humorous anecdote of how once at the gym with other celebrities he was feeling his energy lag and went and switched on loud bluegrass music. Most of the others looked at him like he was a nutjob, but the jangle of the banjo was enough to get him ready to go again.

Recommendations and Exercises

Generally, two to three times per week is an effective amount of time to spend in the gym. Overdoing it at the gym or going to frequently is likely to take off more muscle than it puts on. Sufficient rest, along with eating reasonably healthy food, are two of the most important keys to building muscle, self-confidence and health.

Have a routine you follow and actually follow it. A set is the process of lifting weights up and down multiple times. Repetitions (reps) are the amount of times you lift the weight in each set. Bring a list to the gym of exercises you will do and how many sets and reps per set you wish to achieve. Often, eight or ten reps at a time are best for gaining muscle and obtaining an optimally-healthy workout. Have a small towel or facecloth to towel off sweat and make sure to wipe down your equipment after using it.

Stallone Knows Best

A very helpful book for an aspiring, or even an accomplished weightlifter, is Sly Moves: My Proven Program to Lose Weight, Build Strength, Gain Will Power and Live Your Dream by Sylvester Stallone and David Hochman.

In the book, Stallone lays out a philosophy of life alongside a detailed fitness and nutritional guide that is sure to impress the dullest potential disciple of a healthy lifestyle. For a guide of exact weightlifting routines, muscles worked, and optimal reps this book is indispensable. In an encouraging, down-to-earth tone, he expounds the attitude and outlook that got him where he is against all odds and explains how it can get you there as well, while combining this advice with a variety of practical, detailed workout routines.

Disclaimer: This article is a source of information only. It should by no means be considered a substitute for the advice of a qualified medical professional who should always be consulted before beginning a fitness program.

Not everyone has, nor desires a gym membership. Unfortunately for the gym establishments, people are fast catching onto the idea that a ripped physique, requires very little equipment.

Using a back-to-basics approach and a determined mentality, carving out a lean, muscular body comes down to consistency. Try some of the following workouts, performed 3-6 times a week for maximum results. Cardio can be performed after these short workouts. Switching the workouts around and creating new routines that incorporate more variety are ways to keep exercise regimens fresh and effective. Although most of the exercises used below are very common, Bodybuilding.com has an incredible, free database of exercises to check form or technique if any of them are unfamiliar.

Most of these workouts can be executed in under 25 minutes. To get incredibly fit, incredibly fast, do the following three workouts twice throughout the week.

Hardcore Workout 1: 300 Workout Variation

Perform 30 reps each of the following ten exercises in as short amount of time as possible. Do not go on to the next exercise until all 30 reps are completed.

• Dumbbell swings
• Jumping lunges
• Dips on a bench or chair
• Ax swings with dumbbell
• Sit-ups facing up a hill or on a stability ball
• 2 minutes of jump rope
• Overhead press with a squat at the bottom of the movement
• Box jumps on 12-20" inch box
• Supermans
• Pull-Ups

Hardcore Workout 2: Fantastic Five

Do 2 sets of the following five exercises with the prescribed rep amount. Try to complete the workout quickly to increase intensity.

• 10 decline pushups
• 20 burpees
• 40 push presses
• 80 bodyweight squats
• 100 jumping jacks

Hardcore Workout 3: Pyramid Killers

Remember, simple is not synonymous with easy. Just perform the following exercises, which are in pyramid style.

• 10 each of the following: Spiderman Push-Ups, Bulgarian Squats, Double Crunches (weighted, if desired)
• 5 each of the following: Step Ups, Burpees, and Back rows (dumbbell or band)
• 4 each of the following: Spiderman Push-Ups, Bulgarian Squats, Double Crunches (weighted, if desired)
• 4 each of the following: Step Ups, Burpees, and Back rows (dumbbell or band)
• 6 each of the following: Spiderman Push-Ups, Bulgarian Squats, Double Crunches (weighted, if desired)
• 6 each of the following: Step Ups, Burpees, and Back rows (dumbbell or band)
• 8 each of the following: Spiderman Push-Ups, Bulgarian Squats, Double Crunches (weighted, if desired)
• 2 each of the following: Step Ups, Burpees, and Back rows (dumbbell or band)
• 2 each of the following: Spiderman Push-Ups, Bulgarian Squats, Double Crunches (weighted, if desired)
• 8 each of the following: Step Ups, Burpees, and Back rows (dumbbell or band)
• 5 each of the following: Spiderman Push-Ups, Bulgarian Squats, Double Crunches (weighted, if desired)
• 10 each of the following: Step Ups, Burpees, and Back rows (dumbbell or band)

Achieving lasting health and fitness does not come with expensive equipment or fitness trends. Incorporate functional exercises that are tried and true is always a certain path to achievement. Remember to change routines at least every 4-6 weeks to foster progression.

Balance and continuity are key when building a body. In order to achieve symmetry, all major muscle groups must be thoroughly worked, at least one time a week. Creating a split routine is an efficient way to achieve this.

A split routine can be defined as a weight lifting program where different muscle groups are trained on different days. There isn’t a concrete correct way to do them. They are only limited by imagination and time factors. Here are a few ways a split routing can be performed.

Total Body

This is a great way for beginners or those with a time crunch to get their weight training in. Every major body part is utilized at every workout. Because muscles need a day of rest in between workouts, a total body routing should be performed no more than three to four times a week.

To create a plan, choose one to two exercise fore each muscle group, for a total of 8-10 exercises. These can be done in a circuit fashion, or in supersets. Here is an example:

• Spiderman pushups
• Dips
• Chin-ups
• Supermans
• Bicycle Crunches
• Reverse Lunges
• Romanian Deadlifts
• Squat and Press

Upper/Lower Body Split

With this kind of routing, each body part gets thoroughly worked twice a week. Two lists should be made; one consisting of exercises that predominately work the upper body muscles and one that focuses on the lower boey. Rotate these workout, performing each twice in a week. For example, Mondays and Thursdays can be upper body, and Tuesdays and Fridays can be lower body. Here is a sample split:

Upper Body

• Bicep Curls
• Dumbbell Shrugs
• Triceps Kickbacks
• Bench Press
• Lat Pull Downs
• Crunches
• Arnold Press

Lower Body

• Reverse Crunches
• Jump Squats
• Bulgarian Split Squats
• Lunches with Barbell
• Calf Raises
• Stiff Legged Deadlift
• Weighted Hip Lifts

Push/Pull Splits

A push/pull routine is one that divides exercise that require a pulling motion from those that require pushing. Rotate these workouts throughout the week. These are fun and can help create muscle confusion, an excellent tactic in building muscle. Check out the following sample workout:

Push

• Front Squats
• Dumbbell Bench Press
• Dips
• Overhead Presses
• Leg Press

Pull

• Wide Stance Deadlifts
• Preacher Curls
• Pull-ups
• Double Crunches
• Rear Delt Flyes

3, 4, or 5 Day Split

This kind of split gives the athlete the most freedom over the scheduling. Simple split the muscles into 3, 4, or 5 groups, depending upon how many workouts in a week is desired. Then, perform 2-4 exercises from each of the muscle groups. Each muscle will only be worked one time a week, bit it will be worked very thoroughly. This is the kind of routine most advanced lifters use, but anyone can utilize these concepts. Here is an example of how this kind of split can be organized:

3 Day

• Day One: Chest, Arms, Abs
• Day Two: Back, Shoulders, Abs
• Day Three: Legs

4 Day

• Day One: Chest, Abs
• Day Two: Back, Biceps
• Day Three: Calves, Shoulders
• Day Four: Quads, Hamstrings

5 Day

• Day One: Legs
• Day Two: Shoulders
• Day Three: Back, Abs
• Day Four: Shoulders, Arms
• Day Five: Chest, Abs

Freedom and variety can be easily achieved. Spicing up body building routines prevents boredom and helps ensure a lifestyle of strength.

Muscular endurance is trained specifically and in more of an aerobic and oxygenated pathway, whereas muscular strength is trained in an anaerobic ATP-CP and Glycolytic pathway.

There does seem to be a relationship between muscular strength and muscular endurance. However if a person only trains to improve strength then that person is not improving his muscular endurance that much.

The definition of muscular strength is: the ability of your body's muscle to generate force in a short period of time. This type of activity relies on anaerobic energy--allowing you the short burst of energy you need to lift a heavy weight. When you increase your strength, you're often also increasing the size of your muscles as well as strengthening your connective tissues.

On the other hand the definition of muscular endurance is: the ability to sustain muscle contraction over a period of time without undue fatigue.

By looking at these definitions we can see that muscular strength involves using heavier weights for a shorter period of time, and muscular endurance involves using a moderate weight for a longer period of time. The pathways utilized are different for each. For muscular strength the pathway utilized would be more ATP-CP and some glycolysis, and muscular endurance would utilize more of glycolysis and oxygen pathways.

The physiology of a muscle is that each muscle contains muscle fibers. Each fiber is innervated by a single axon; a motor neuron may have a hundred or more axons. A single motor neuron, with all the fibers it controls, is a motor unit. As the brain's signal for contraction increases, it both recruits more motor units and increases the "firing frequency" of those units already recruited. Even during a "maximal voluntary contraction", it is unlikely that all the motor units are activated. All joints, however, are set up as lever systems: the fulcrum where two bones meet, one force produced by the muscle, and the other by a load. Strength is not just muscle force, but muscle force as modified by the mechanical advantage of the joint. To complicate matters further, this mechanical advantage usually varies with joint rotation, as does the muscle force. The net result is strength that varies with joint angle and may be somewhat decoupled from muscle force. Joint strength can be increased with exercise.

Muscular endurance activities would include activities such as: martial arts, jogging, triathlon, swimming, wrestling, tennis, circuit training.

Muscular strength activities would include activities such as: weight lifting, power lifting, gymnastics.