Following through a workout can be very difficult with so many distractions, a tight schedule, and worries of daily life. However, these tips will help you stick to your plan and achieve your workout resolution.
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Research suggests that an evening workout before bed can help you to fall asleep more easily instead of getting in the way of a peaceful night. However, you need to keep your exercises short and light. You can’t do high-intensity workouts for an hour. That will have an adverse effect.
Evening workouts before bed can also help you carry forward the benefits into your sleep session. During sleep, your body recovers. The morning workout that ripped your muscles and strained your tissues are recovered, regrown, and strengthened. When you have a light workout before bed, you accelerate this recovery process.
Here are a few exercises that can make your workout routine. The routine would hardly require 10 minutes of your time and also helps you to unwind and relax your body by the end of the routine with stretches. Do three sets of each exercise with a small break of a few seconds between each set. When you do the stretches make sure that you hold them for at least 30 seconds. If you feel comfortable, you can stretch it to a minute.
Here’s how you do a glute bridge:
Here are 5 advantages to lifting light weights:
In fact, a study published by The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in 2014 showed that when two groups of people performed 12 weeks of strength training, the group that was able to lift weights with a full range of motion achieved greater strength and improved the size of their muscles more than the group that performed the exercise with a shorter range of motion.
Plus, when you lift heavier loads, your compensatory muscles kick in to assist with the movement which reduces the pressure put on the intended muscle group. Thus, it’s more beneficial to train with light weights if you want to induce hypertrophy in isolated muscles.
It’s been proven that lifting light weights drastically reduces the chance of injury and also helps you to slowly acclimatize with the weight lifting procedure. In fact, it’s the recommended way to train for beginners and people with a chronic injury.
People who train with light weights have the privilege to train for higher reputations which help to build their stamina and skyrocket their endurance. As a result, they can do all kinds of activities from everyday chores to pushing themselves to the limits but still may not get exhausted. Thus, if you want to feel more energetic all the time, it would be more helpful for you to train for endurance instead of strength.
However, when you train with light weights, you can dedicate your attention to the proper form and form a superior mind-body connection which helps to induce better gains. Thus, if you are just getting started, it’s best to start training with light weights to perfect your form and reduce your chance of injury. You can always train with heavier loads when you develop the proper form and the strength for it.
]]>Duke University conducted a research study where they experimented with over 100 obese participants and divided them into three groups. They made one group do aerobics training, only cardiovascular exercises. Another group did weight training while the last group had to do a combination of cardiovascular exercises and weight training.
The groups were on their designated training routine for eight months without any other lifestyle changes. After the research period was over, the participants were measured on three metrics:
The results may be as you expected. Groups that did only aerobics training and those that did both cardio and weight training lost significant weight and fat mass. On the other hand, groups that did only weight training and a combination of weight training and cardio saw a significant gain in lean mass. However, the results also tell us that those who lost weight only due to cardio training were more likely to put on weight compared to those who did weight training and a combination of both. But what’s the reason?
The group that was exclusively on cardio training is more likely to gain weight in the future due to their Resting Metabolic Rate. RMR is the rate of calories burned by your body when you aren’t doing any physically demanding activity. It’s the amount of energy used by your body when you are relaxing, watching television, lying down while reading a book, or doing nothing. Your lean mass is the most important factor that governs your RMR.
When you add muscle you increase your RMR or metabolic rate. The figures vary and some believe an added pound of muscle helps you burn 12 more calories while others believe the extra calorie burn to be around 70. Irrespective of the range, muscle mass has a big impact on your metabolic rate. So, when you lift weight and add muscle mass, you boost your metabolism and your body can burn more calories and lose weight even when you do nothing.
Compared to weight training that positively affects your metabolic rate, cardio has a negative effect. Excessive cardio training can make your body enter the catabolic state where you burn muscle instead of fat or carbohydrate for energy. That means you lose muscle mass and end up lowering your RMR.
While you may burn more calories on the treadmill compared to lifting weights, the effect wears off as soon as you get off the machine. Moreover, cardio doesn’t add to your existing lean mass and doesn’t support it in any way. That’s why exclusive cardio training can do more harm than good. Instead, you should be on a regiment that has cardio and weight training.
These exercises use more muscles compared to other exercises in this category. That means you burn a lot of calories during the exercises and a lot more when your muscles get repaired after the workout.
Compared to most other forms of training, weight training helps you build lean mass that affects your calorie-burning capability when you’re not on the gym or the track. That helps you to lose weight and keep it that way in the long run.
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You have to do each exercise in the routine for two sets of ten reps. Keep the rest period between each set within 10 to 30 seconds. While the exercises may seem easy, you need to do them in quick succession and that makes this routine intense. Moreover, it’s challenging to keep up with the circuit for 30 days. You can’t miss out any day of the week and need to stay on track to get results.
Stretching is a way to warm up your muscles and open up your body so that you can have access to a wide range of motions during your workout. It makes your body fluid by making it flexible and helps you to execute movements without breaking your form. It makes your muscles stretchy and also helps you to avoid injuries during complicated exercises. Moreover, without stretching you may end up with sore muscles after a heavy workout. Stretching falls into these main categories:
Here are some benefits of stretching your body before a workout:
Conventional wisdom says you should do intense exercises that create enough sweat to blind you. For people who don’t want that kind of hardcore routine, LIS is a welcome break. However, it also creates some doubts. Can a low-intensity routine help you effectively burn fat and lose weight? Let’s find out.
For a qualitative comparison if you think of HIIT as a short sprint, think of LISS as a long marathon. It incorporates different forms of aerobic-based and cardio exercises that are done for a long time at low intensity. Your body needs oxygen to efficiently burn fat. When you train at a lower intensity, your body uses up a constant amplified supply of energy to break down fat and turn it into energy. That means you aren’t over-exerting yourself in your journey to weight loss.
If you aren’t on LISS training, this list of steady-state exercises will help you out:
If you have a heart monitor or a smartwatch that can monitor your heart rate, measure your maximum heart rate with the most intense workout. Then try these LISS exercises to check if you can do them with 70 percent of your maximum heart rate for at least 15 minutes.
As mentioned before, you need to spend more time than usual for a LISS workout to be effective. The good thing is LISS doesn’t demand a lot of commitment and is easy to get into for beginners who want to shed extra pounds. If you have combined a few LISS exercises to form a circuit, you should spend at least 10 minutes on each exercise for positive results. However, if you stick to a single cardio machine, exercise on it at a steady pace for around an hour.
BMR or Base Metabolic Rate is the number of calories you need to maintain your present weight without any exercise. Here’s how you calculate it:
For instance, if Greg is a 6 feet tall(72 inches) male who is 23 years old and weighs 160 pounds his BMR would be:
BMR = 66 + (6.2 x 160) + (12.7 x 72) - (6.76 x 23) = 1816
That means Greg should consume 1816 calories every day to maintain his current weight with no physical exercise.
You need to be honest with yourself to calculate your TDEE or Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Depending on your activity level, you can calculate your TDEE:
Based on our previous example with Greg, let’s say he works from home and goes on a daily jog for half an hour. Then he would be considered moderately active. Hence, his TDEE should be 1.55 x BMR = 1.55 x 1816 = 2814
So, with the current activity level, Greg would need to consume 2814 calories each day to maintain his weight.
You need to consume more calories than your TDEE to bulk up. 15 percent of that should give you sustainable growth. So, to add muscle mass you need:
TDEE + (TDEE x 0.15)
That means Greg needs to increase his daily calorie intake to:
2814 + (2814 x 0.15) = 3236
Greg needs to consume around 3200 calories every day for muscle gain. However, you can’t reach that calorie intake goal with junk food and empty nutrients.
Your calorie intake should be composed of balanced macronutrients with a focus on protein. That means no sugary drinks and store-bought pizzas. You have to prepare healthy recipes to accommodate that macronutrient balance. Here’s how many calories you get from each macronutrient:
However, you need to know your body type to figure out the amount of each macronutrient that goes into your meal.
There are three major body types. Choose one that describes yours:
Depending on your body type here’s the ratio of macronutrients you should consume:
Now you can break down your daily calorie intake according to that ratio. Continuing with the example of Greg, let’s assume that he has an ectomorph body type. Then his calorie intake should be divided like this:
You divide each figure by the number of meals you consume every day which will help you figure out how to plan your meals efficiently.
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This routine is made of supersets of a pair of exercises with a rest period for recovery in between.
Day 1
Superset A:
Superset B:
Superset C:
Superset D:
Day 2
Superset A:
Superset B:
Superset C:
Superset D:
Day 3
Superset A:
Superset B:
Superset C:
Superset D:
For days 1 to 3 in Week 1 add one set to each exercise in superset A for Day 1 to 3
Additional set over Week 2 to the same supersets for the same days
Additional set over Week 3 to the same supersets for the same days
Same as Week 1, except a heavier load for each exercise in superset A for Day 1 to 3. Increase the load progressively for the upcoming weeks.
Same as Week 2
Same as Week 3
Same as Week 4
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You need specific goals to determine how much time you should spend on the rowing machine. It may be losing a certain amount of weight or getting jacked up. Your goals will define your exercise routine.
Divide it over the week and you need to lose 750 calories every day. You can achieve this with healthy eating choices and pass the rest of the burden to your exercise routine. So, if you can cut down on 350 calories every day by opting for fruits instead of cookies, you need to burn 400 calories at the rowing machine. Depending on your heart rate, age, weight, and other such factors, you can burn 400 calories by spending around an hour or less on the rowing machine.
However, several studies have shown that anaerobic exercises can improve your aerobic conditioning and vice versa. So, a mixed routine would be better.
The time you need to spend on a rowing machine also depends on the timeline of your goal. For instance, if you take the calorie burn example of losing 12 pounds in 2 months, you need to spend around an hour or less on the machine. However, your time on the rowing machine gets cut down by half if you stretch your goal and decide on losing 12 pounds in 4 months.
Check on your daily routine and figure out how much time you can squeeze out for your workouts. You can also accommodate your favorite shows into the rowing workout to make most of your time. The machine helps you maintain posture and hence you can do an intense workout even when you are watching your favorite show on Netflix or listening to an audiobook.
Even if you are on a tight schedule you can always make around 15 to 20 minutes of workout. Make that into HIIT rowing exercises and you can get decent results within weeks. To get the best results combine it with a healthy low-carb diet.
Many factors go into answering the question - “How long should you work out on a rowing machine?”. It depends on your goals, the time you can afford to spend on daily workouts, and even your diet. Audit your current diet, lifestyle, assess your goals, and use the above-mentioned factors to come up with workout sessions that best suit you.
]]>CrossFit workouts are perfect for fat burning since they are fast and highly intense.
CrossFit is extremely versatile and if your goal is muscle gain, your coach can modify your workout regime to involve heavy weights and higher reps for quick and efficient muscle growth.
To lose weight you need to change your diet to create a calorie deficit and consume the right kind of macronutrient for muscle growth. As you damage and stress your muscle fibers through rigorous exercises, your body needs the right nutrients to repair them and help them grow to adjust to the change.
However, most people don’t know how HIIT actually works, why it is so beneficial, and whether they are supposed to do it. In this article, we will explain all the important details that you need to learn about HIIT to get started.
High-intensity interval training refers to workout sessions that consist of short bursts of intense exercise along with periods of lower-intensity exercise or rest. The total HIIT session can be anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes with intense periods of 1-5 minutes and recovery periods of 3-5 minutes.
For an exercise session to qualify as HIIT, your heart rate must reach at least 80 percent of your maximum capacity during the intense periods. Sometimes, you may reach 100 percent of your heart’s capacity as well. This type of training gets your heart rate up and keeps it high for longer which results in a variety of health benefits.
High-intensity interval training requires no weights or machines and can be performed using only your body weight. As a result, these can be performed almost anywhere. The difference between high-intensity interval training and steady-state, continuous types of exercise is the inclusion of intervals.
Thus, an example HIIT session may start with a warm-up of 10 minutes, followed by 4 minutes of vigorous exercise such as sprints to get your heart rate rising up to at least 80 percent of your maximum followed by a 3 minute recovery period such as walking or jogging and would end with a cool-down period of 5 minutes.
Here are a few benefits of doing high-intensity interval training:
In fact, VO2 max is one of the best predictors of your overall health and calculates how much blood your heart can pump and when you would run out of breath while doing activities such as swimming or running.
Thus, HIIT has proven to be more effective than traditional moderate-intensity training for reducing body fat.
High-intensity interval training offers numerous health benefits and is incredibly useful to people who don’t have enough time to exercise for more than 20-30 minutes a day. The best part is that you don’t require any special equipment or weights to get started.
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CrossFit is versatile and that’s why it has people from all demographics with different backgrounds in terms of age, gender, profession, and fitness levels. Unless you want to go pro, your goal isn’t to spend several hours at the “box” and get hyper-athletic. Spending an hour at the CrossFit gym can help you achieve your fitness goals.
When you finally decide on a gym and have workouts planned by your coach remember to take things one step at a time. Even if you aren’t competitive, CrossFit gyms tend to light the competitive spark in you and you may be tempted to dial up the intensity drastically. However, that may lead to overexertion that keeps you out of the gym for a few days or injure you to put you in the hospital for weeks. Take things slow and steady.
]]>The first thing that comes to mind for weight training gear is clothes. Without the right clothes, you may not be able to maintain proper form or end up getting more tired. Here’s what you need:
Once you get serious about weight training, you need these gears to be safe and efficient in your workout:
Moreover, you must set yourself a challenging yet reasonable goal. For instance, you can’t lift over hundred pounds of weight for strength training within a month if you haven’t exercised for years. It’s important to set reasonable goals so that you get further drive from reaching them instead of demotivating yourself after following an obvious path towards failure.
Strength training can bring several benefits. It makes you burn more fat, look and stay younger, boosts your confidence, and improves your mood. However, you are often confused if you should prioritize cardio or lift more weights. The quick answer is both. You need to divide your routine between the two to get a balanced result. Now, let’s clear some misconceptions:
While you don’t need weights and equipment to start strength training, they can help you a lot with extra resistance for quicker results. If you aren’t going to the gym, you can buy a few sets of weights, exercise balls, and resistance bands. Often women avoid lifting weights in favor of cardio since they fear they might build large muscles. However, that’s not true. Women don’t create a significant amount of testosterone necessary for larger muscles. So, you can approach strength training with weights without any fear.
Let’s look at some of the exercises that help you target and improve a certain muscle group:
When you are a beginner it’s suggested that you try out different exercises and check out what’s best for you. For an effective routine, you should pair up a couple of upper body exercises with around three or four lower body exercises. Moreover, it’s recommended that you start with larger muscle groups since they require more energy and are more demanding and then move on to smaller ones.
It’s also important to allow a rest period for your muscle groups. So, if you work your chest and biceps on Monday, switch to your shoulders and triceps on Tuesday, and so on. If you do a full-body workout, you are better off working out 3 to 4 days a week so that all your muscles get ample rest. You can also hire a professional trainer to optimize a program catered to you.
You are better off sticking with 3 to 5 sets for each exercise. However, reps can be different depending on your goals.
Don’t rush in with a heavy load and test your limit progressively by starting with a light load and adding on a bit more every time. It is also important that you do more reps for each exercise or increase the load a little bit after a few days to keep your muscles stimulated for the best results.
While you are strength training, don’t ignore one of the most important components - your diet. A diet plan with the proper ratio of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fat is extremely necessary for strength training.
]]>A rep or repetition is defined by a complete motion for an exercise. A set is the total number of reps conducted consecutively without any breaks. You may have gone through numerous workout regimes with the recommended number of reps and sets for each exercise. However, things aren’t so simple. Everyone is built differently and the same holds for their goals.
The first thing you need to figure out before deciding on a number of sets and reps is your goal. What do you want from your workout routine? Your goal may be increased muscle endurance, bulkier muscles, or an overall increase in strength. Let’s check out some of the widely accepted numbers of reps for these goals.
While these are ideal cases, you need to check out things for yourself. Start with a light load with more reps and test your limits by increasing the load and decreasing reps slowly.
Fortunately, the answer to this question is very simple. Ideally, you should be doing around 3 to 5 sets for each exercise. This magic number range has its origins in 1948 when physician Thomas L. DeLorme suggested the same number of sets to his patients to rebuild muscles. He also recorded their progress and published the results that proved his suggestion’s effectiveness. Since then this number has been etched permanently in the fitness community.
However, you don’t need to stress out yourself over those numbers. In the end, it depends on the individual and your capabilities. If you feel like you can maintain form and do more sets with the ideal rep range, then go for it. If you want to build more muscle or bulk up, you need to work your muscles more. And if you feel like you have the energy for an extra set, don’t hesitate. Just be careful of the rest period between sets. You want an efficient workout routine instead of stretching it long.
Now you’re familiar with the basics:
Research also suggests that a heavier load with fewer reps is more effective in building muscle mass instead of volume. So, training with weights is usually more effective than bodyweight exercises.
Nutrition is also a big part of your workout routine. Whether you’re looking to build muscle or lose weight, you need to check out your calories and macronutrient split for the most effective results. Reps and sets play a much smaller role than nutrition. It’s just important to do more reps the next day so that you can keep your muscles in a state of shock to adapt to the challenges and burn more fat.
]]>In order to build lean muscle mass, you need to lift heavy weights, eat foods rich in protein, and allow your body to recover by sleeping well and taking rest days. Thus, if you lift every day, you run the risk of overtraining which can not only stunt muscle growth but cause all sorts of injuries.
According to several studies, you should exercise at least two days a week to encourage muscle growth. However, to maximize muscle gain, it is important to structure your training in a systematic manner.
Given below is a basic schedule for lifting weights depending on the training level:
Here is a simple training schedule for intermediate bodybuilders that you may follow:
Day |
Body Segment |
Monday |
Upper Body |
Tuesday |
Rest or Cardio |
Wednesday |
Leg Day |
Thursday |
Upper Body |
Friday |
Rest or Cardio |
Saturday |
Leg Day |
Sunday |
Rest or Cardio |
The important thing to remember is that these are just suggested workout schedules and not set in stone. Thus, it’s okay, and in fact, recommended that you skip a day or two if you ever feel sick to allow your body to recover from the damage.
Also, if you ever believe that you have hit the dreaded plateau, it is crucial to swap your current exercises for a fresh start and experiment with different training schedules to see what works for your body.
For achieving your weight loss goals, you must burn more calories than you consume. While lifting weights can help you with weight loss, it is crucial to incorporate cardio sessions to accelerate the weight loss. Generally, 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio activity up to 5 times a week along with 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity for up to 3 times a week is considered good.
For strength training, you must lift weights at least 2-3 times per week initially and then increase the sessions to 5 times per week. Ideally, you would also want to dedicate 2 days to doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT) per week.
To get the best results, it is crucial to incorporate compound exercises in your workout training such as deadlifts, squats, bench press, and overhead press.
According to several studies, it is much easier to remain muscular once you have trained properly to reach that level than it is to build more muscle. In fact, you can participate in strength training sessions and lift weights only once per week to maintain your muscle mass and strength. However, lifting weights at least 2 times per week can not only help you to maintain your physique but also allow you to build more muscle.
For strength training, losing weight, and gaining muscle, it is much better for beginners to lift weights 2-3 times a week and allow the body to recover after each workout session than to work out 4-5 times a week and damage the muscles due to overtraining. Intermediate and advanced weight lifters can train 4-5 times a week with adequate rest in between workout days to prevent muscle injury. However, you can train as little as once a week if your goal is to just preserve muscle mass.
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Numerous online calculators can help you calculate your TDEE with basic information like age, height, body fat percentage, etc.
To build muscle, you need to maintain a caloric surplus. However, you don’t need to add insane amounts of calories. A surplus of 500 calories every day is more than enough and it should be complemented by an intense gym workout. Moreover, you need to consume around 0.6 to 1 gram of protein for every pound of protein to build muscle. For instance, if you weigh 120 pounds at the moment, you need to consume around 72 to 120 grams of protein each day.
For instance, if weight loss is your goal, you need a 30:40:30 split between carbohydrates, protein, and fat in that order. To maintain your weight carbohydrate takes the center stage with 50 percent while the rest is split between protein and fat. For muscle gain, you need a 50:30:20 split.
For instance, if you are on a muscle gain diet of 2100 calories each day and your macro split is 50 percent carbs, 30 percent protein, and 20 percent fat, you need to do the following:
Once you have all the macronutrient targets, you can buy your ingredients accordingly and make balanced meals for your workout. Buy a scale so that you can weigh each gram of carb, fat, or protein that goes into your diet.
]]>CrossFit is a conditioning and strength workout where you do functional movements at high intensity. Unlike regular workouts, this form of workout doesn’t have any reps or sets. Instead, it aims to build power by focusing on speed, distance, load, and other such factors. Moreover, CrossFit training is extremely flexible since it can be easily scaled and modified to align with your fitness levels, and your fitness goals.
You’ve probably come across a typical type of person who is into CrossFit training. Jacked to the top, young and quite active. However, CrossFit training is suited for everyone of all ages and fitness levels. In fact, you can even get your kids on the program since it can help them develop coordination, advanced motor skills, and proper balance. It can get your child hooked on a healthy lifestyle from an early age.
CrossFit is appropriate for all ages since any form of training can be easily adjusted to match the requirements of a certain age group. For instance, a 25-year-old and 60-year old both have to do the same motion for a squat. The younger person can do it faster, that’s all. Moreover, CrossFit gyms always keep their members motivated by keeping a score of everyone and post the winner list on social media. Hence, you are always psychologically incentivized to improve yourself.
When you join a CrossFit class, you may be confused by the lingo thrown around by the instructor verbally, or written on a board, or displayed on an LCD. Let’s learn a few basic acronyms and lingo used in a CrossFit class:
If you want to participate in the fitness journey of CrossFit training, you should join a beginner’s class. Tell your coach about your restrictions and limitations and other details about your lifestyle. A good coach will do a proper assessment and tailor a CrossFit training perfect for you. Once you build confidence in the beginner classes, you can move on to the regular classes.
You can also learn from CrossFit training and apply it to your own workout routine. You can learn from CrossFit, to make your routine an intense time-based workout. Set your timer and try to do 5 squats, 5 pushups, and 5 jumping jacks within a minute. You can modify this if you feel like you can push yourself further. With more functional movement in your workout, you can also become more flexible and take advantage of it in weight training.
Since CrossFit is a high-intensity workout, it’s easy to injure yourself. Surveys show that CrossFit has an injury rate of 20 percent, which is pretty high when it’s considered a recreational activity. Usually, it happens when athletes get fatigued and have poor form or when they do wrong motions or variations not suitable for them. Here’s how you can avoid injuries in CrossFit training:
2. Choose the right coach/gym - If you have an inexperienced coach, you may be pushed towards injuries. A good coach will stop you when they sense fatigue and would raise the volume at a sustainable rate for your safety. Find a gym or coach with a good reputation so that you can avoid expensive medical bills or physical therapy sessions.]]>
When you lift heavy you also get a boost in confidence and self-esteem. As you shape your body with heavy weights, you develop a positive body image and have more faith in your physical abilities.
9. Torch fat - While aerobic exercises can help you increase your stamina and burn a lot of calories during the exercise, strength training with heavy weights helps you to increase your body’s calorie-burning ability throughout the day. You burn more calories and hence more fat even while you’re sitting on the couch or sleeping.
You know that the easiest part of the exercise is the decision to do it. However, continuing it regularly requires a lot of determination and discipline. Therefore, many beginners give up on workouts at the beginning because they lose motivation. But don’t worry! If you are a beginner and want to start exercising regularly without losing motivation, this article is for you. Here, we will tell you eight beginner-friendly exercises that will keep you engaged and provide tremendous health benefits as well.
You wanna’ know these engaging exercises, don’t you? Without further delay, let us show you these outstanding exercises to kick-start your journey to become stronger.
You will need the following equipments for the exercises given below
Squats are one of the best exercises for beginners that significantly engage the lower body, quadriceps, and glutes. It also engages the core and helps to stabilize the body movement. This exercise involves various muscle movements simultaneously and boosts anabolic hormone production. Furthermore, it strengthens bones, tendons, and ligaments that prevent ankle and knee injuries.
Here is how to perform squats step-by-step.
A very effective exercise that can benefit multiple muscle groups at one time. It is particularly valuable for upper body strength and works on biceps, triceps, shoulders, and spine. If you perform it properly, it can also engage your lower back and core. Further, it also enhances cardiovascular health and helps the heart deliver oxygen-rich blood to muscles. Additional benefits are it can improve your posture, and strengthen the lower back and shoulder to help prevent injuries.
See below on how to perform the push up.
It’s a fantastic mobility exercise that empowers you to work through a full range of motion that benefits different muscle groups. It is very good for core muscles as your obliques and abs work together to lift and twist the dumbbell. Its primary target is oblique and abdominal muscles, but it can also work your shoulder, back, and glutes.
Let us see how to do dumbbell wood-chop.
Glute training is beneficial for increasing posterior chain length, performance, and power. It targets your glute muscles to hold your body upright. When you spend your whole day sitting in the chair, your glutes and hip flexors can become short and weak. Therefore, a glute bridge is good for strengthening the hip flexors. Its primary target is butt muscles, but it also does an excellent job for core stabilizers, transversus abdominis, and multifidus muscles. Further, it also helps in spine erection that improves the posture and helps lower back pain.
Let us see how you can perform glute bridges.
Nowadays, when there are various exercises available, it can be difficult for beginners to choose the one that can most benefit their body and keep them engaged throughout the journey. We are very familiar with performance in the gym. These four engaging exercises are great for beginners and will provide a good foundation to start from.
If you are having any difficulty choosing the right exercises for yourself, feel free to contact us for help!
]]>Analyzing the importance of strength exercises and weight lifting in overall human health, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommends that adults should add moderate or intense muscle-strengthening activities into their workouts two days a week. From this recommendation, you can easily explore the importance of weight lifting for your health.
Keep reading the article, and we will show you eight incredible benefits of weight lifting on your overall health. Lets dive in!
Weight lifting boosts your metabolism and increases the burning rate of fat and calories. The body demands energy based on the intensity of work. In weight lifting, you exert a considerable amount of energy. Hence, the body burns calories to get the desired energy. The calories either come from eaten food or stored body fat. In a calorie deficit, your body will burn body fat for fuel. In addition, people who walk lose more weight than people who lifted weights only. Why is this? It is because there are additional calories burned while walking that must come from food energy or stored fat energy. In a calorie deficit, the energy is taken from body fat. Adding walking to your strength training program is a great way to burn additional calories without spiking hunger.
It doesn’t only increase your muscle strength, it dramatically strengthens your bones and joints as well. This added strength and stability helps prevent you from severe injuries. Further, it is helpful in old age as bone density starts to decrease after 30 years of age. However, if you lift weights regularly, your bone density will be higher, and your bones will be stronger in old age than other individuals of the same age. This benefit is significant for women as they lose a significant amount of bone density by age 60 and face many bone related problems.
Weight lifting provides significant cardiovascular benefits that can influence your long-term health. According to research, people who do strength train daily have 40 to 70% less risk of heart attacks, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and deaths related to heart attacks. It is beneficial for the heart because it strengthens the heart muscles.
Weight lifting is very good for your mental health and can decrease depression and anxiety. Working out causes your body to release endorphins and stimulates the pleasure part of the brain that improves your mood. Further, it can release pent-up stress caused by long-term problems. It also enhances your cognitive abilities that can help prevent dementia in later life. Additionally, performing exercise daily increases the focus and concentration power of your brain. It also has a surprising effect on your sleep quality and memory as well.
Some people consider weight lifting as a flexibility killer and think that it makes muscles tighter. That is wrong. It dramatically influences your muscle flexibility and provides long-lasting elasticity as compared to static stretches. Stronger muscles along with flexibility are great for injury prevention.
Apart from muscle building and fat loss, strength training can also help you manage various chronic diseases like arthritis, diabetes, asthma, back pain, cancer, and dementia. Regular exercise lowers the sugar level in the blood and can prevent diabetes. Likewise, it can also control the frequency of asthma attacks. Furthermore, it improves the quality of life and has positive effects on cancer and dementia as well.
Weight lifting helps you build self-confidence as you become stronger physically and mentally. Your body also looks great which helps you walk with confidence. Furthermore, it also decreases depression and anxiety. The lower the depression, the greater the self-confidence. Additionally, you see yourself making progress every day, lifting more weight, doing more repetitions, and achieving goals that significantly increase your confidence.
Strength training significantly improves your balance and provides you stability. The muscles considerably deteriorate in old age. However, if you lift regularly, it will build muscle strength and increase balance & coordination.
Weight lifting is not only beneficial for building muscles and removing fat. It also influences overall body health and offers many benefits to your brain, bones, joints, and heart that have a noticeable effect on your life.
]]>If you are facing trouble starting a workout plan, you are not alone. Many of us face this issue in the beginning. Drafting a workout plan is a cumbersome task. Further, adding exercise to routine requires a lot of determination and discipline. However, if you are determined to further your health, this article will help you get started.
Our experts have an intelligent and well-designed program for beginners that can help you create your own workout plan easily. So, keep reading the systematic guide to map your training session today!
Whenever you try to start a workout plan, your busy schedule, poor health, and other such excuses become distractions to getting it done. It is important to start with why. Why do I want to work out? For health reasons? Do I want to look good for my partner? Did the doctor say if I continue down the unhealthy path it will end badly for me? Always start with why. When your why is strong enough, how will figure itself out.
It is necessary to analyze your fitness level thoroughly. It helps you to understand your weakness and choose an ideal plan to cover the deficiency. Furthermore, it will work as a benchmark to measure progress levels in the future. The best practice is to consult your healthcare provider and get a complete physical examination. It will detect any health problems and significantly reduce the injury risk.
However, you can check your fitness level yourself following the given instructions. You should record how pulse rate changes before and after walking 1.6 kilometers and by measuring the push ups that you can do at one time. These factors will be helpful to check your aerobic and muscular fitness.
How many times have you decided to lose weight or build muscle, and how many times have you failed to do it? It might be because you set unrealistic goals. We recommend you follow a different approach. First, you decide what you want to do— whether you want to get build muscle or lose fat or both. Then, make different short-term and long-term goals for this purpose.
For example, suppose you aim to run 5 miles daily. You fail to complete the target on the first day, you leave disheartened and quit the plan. However, if you create a plan that includes short runs until you build up to a 5 mile run, the outcome will be much better for you.
To start any workout plan, you need essential gym equipment for a better experience. Therefore, you should have these instruments before beginning the exercise.
Now you are ready to start the exercise. Don't start a session at a fast pace. Instead, do warm-up sessions and then increase your rate gradually. If you have several activities in your workout plan, don't do it all at once. Instead, try to divide them into different sessions with breaks in between.
If you feel pain, nausea, or dizziness, it means you are pushing yourself hard. It will be best if you stop there and come back another day.
Always be accountable to yourself and record your measurements to analyze your progress. You should weigh yourself regularly and keep an exercise journal to track your achievements. If you are not making the desired progress, try to alter your plan for better results or speak with a professional trainer to develop a tailored program to your needs.
Making a perfect workout plan for yourself can be a laborious task. You should seek expert guidance to design a plan. If you still need help designing a workout program for you, feel free to contact us.
]]>If you are just getting started, we recommend you keep things simple and follow the simple weight lifting workouts mentioned in this article.
Reps - 6, Sets - 4, Rest - 60-90 seconds.
Sets - 3, Reps - 10, Rest - 60 seconds.
Sets - 4, Reps - 6-8, Rest - 60 seconds.
Sets - 5, Reps - 5, Rest - 90 seconds.
Sets - 5, Reps - 5, Rest - 60 - 90 seconds.
Sets - 3, Reps - 10, Rest - 60 - 90 seconds.
Sets - 5, Reps - 5, Rest - 60- 90 seconds.
Sets - 5, Reps - 5, Rest - 60- 90 seconds.
Sets - 3, Reps - 10, Rest - 60 seconds.
Sets - 2, Reps - 8 each side, Rest - 60 - 90 seconds.
Sets - 3, Reps - 5 each side, Rest - 60 seconds.