Use the following 10 guidelines as an acid test to the efficacy of your workouts. Score one point for each one you already do:
· Do a general (cardio) warm-up before lifting.
· Perform at least one specific light warm-up set.
· Execute exercises through a full range of motion.
· Use light weight with new exercises.
· Do not ignore pain in or around the joints.
· Design programs to enhance muscular balance.
· Avoid bouncing at the bottom of each lift.
· When squatting; keep your knees over your shoelaces.
· Train multiple exercises for each muscle group.
· Emphasize correct technique and mental concentration.
Score:
(10/10): You are good to go lift on your own, and people like you.
8/10: Learn more about muscular balance and program design.
6/10: You ain’t as strong as you think you are tuff guy.
4/10: Step away… carefully… from the bench press. It’s not how much you bench, but how much you know that matters. Your next lift should be a good book on lifting (hint: two great sources are mentioned in italics below).
Derived and adapted from The National Strength and Conditioning Association, The National Academy of Sports Medicine, and fourteen years of banging weights.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
How Much Water Do You Need to Drink?
The more you weigh the more water you need.
To find your basic water intake, take your healthy bodyweight and divide it in half; that is how many ounces of water your body needs each day. It follows that someone who weighs 180 pounds should drink 90 ounces of water each day (That’s nearly 12 – 8 oz cups).
Sound extreme? Don’t think so fast. The body is estimated to be 60-70 percent water.
The water in your body helps regulate your body temperature, delivers nutrients to organs, transports oxygen to your cells, removes waste, and even helps protect your joints and organs. Recent studies have linked dehydration to lower back pain. Water is important, water is life.
It can be hard to drink as much water as you need during a busy day. Look for opportunities such as early morning, evening, or while driving to increase your consumption.
Special situations:
Arid climate: add 2 servings of water (16 oz) per day.
On a plane: add 8 oz of water for every hour on the plane.
Obesity: don’t drink too much. Add only 8 oz for every 25 pounds you are overweight.
If you drink caffeine or other diuretics: drink two extra cups of water per cup of diuretic.
*Having a full water bottle on hand at all times is the single best way to increase your water consumption. Start by purchasing a water bottle, and get in the habit of having it on hand and ready to drink.
To find your basic water intake, take your healthy bodyweight and divide it in half; that is how many ounces of water your body needs each day. It follows that someone who weighs 180 pounds should drink 90 ounces of water each day (That’s nearly 12 – 8 oz cups).
Sound extreme? Don’t think so fast. The body is estimated to be 60-70 percent water.
The water in your body helps regulate your body temperature, delivers nutrients to organs, transports oxygen to your cells, removes waste, and even helps protect your joints and organs. Recent studies have linked dehydration to lower back pain. Water is important, water is life.
It can be hard to drink as much water as you need during a busy day. Look for opportunities such as early morning, evening, or while driving to increase your consumption.
Special situations:
Arid climate: add 2 servings of water (16 oz) per day.
On a plane: add 8 oz of water for every hour on the plane.
Obesity: don’t drink too much. Add only 8 oz for every 25 pounds you are overweight.
If you drink caffeine or other diuretics: drink two extra cups of water per cup of diuretic.
*Having a full water bottle on hand at all times is the single best way to increase your water consumption. Start by purchasing a water bottle, and get in the habit of having it on hand and ready to drink.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Basic Nutrition Guidelines for Altering Body Composition
From the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)
For Fat Loss
*Distribute protein, carbohydrate, and fat throughout the day and at each meal.
*Choose whole grains and fresh vegetables over refined grains and simple sugars (as the fiber and complexity of the starch will aid in hunger control).
*Schedule no fewer than four and as many as six meals a day. This helps to control hunger, minimize blood sugar fluctuations and increase energy levels throughout the day.
*Avoid empty calories and highly processed foods, which contain many calories and do little to provide satiety (the feeling that you are full).
*Drink a lot of water (8 to 12 cups a day).
*Weigh your food for a week. If you have never done this… it will blow your mind. Chances are you under report your daily calories. Measuring your intake to the gram will give you clarity on the truth behind what you eat.
NOTE: Weighing and measuring food obsessively can lead to a “diet mentality,” so be careful. Diet is a four letter word that starts with DIE (DIE = BAD). However; one week of measuring can serve to educate you on actual serving sizes (education = good).
For Lean Body Mass Gain
*Eat four to six meals per day. Insulin response to a meal stimulates protein synthesis.
*Spread protein intake out through the day to take advantage of the aforementioned tip.
*Keep in mind the post-workout window of opportunity. Ingestion of protein and carbohydrates within 90 minutes of a workout will increase recovery and protein synthesis, maximizing gains. This may be most easily accomplished with a liquid meal replacement formula that can be absorbed quickly due to being pre-digested. Food may take several hours to digest… missing the window.
*Do not neglect the importance of carbohydrates and fat. It takes more than protein to increase body mass.
For Fat Loss
*Distribute protein, carbohydrate, and fat throughout the day and at each meal.
*Choose whole grains and fresh vegetables over refined grains and simple sugars (as the fiber and complexity of the starch will aid in hunger control).
*Schedule no fewer than four and as many as six meals a day. This helps to control hunger, minimize blood sugar fluctuations and increase energy levels throughout the day.
*Avoid empty calories and highly processed foods, which contain many calories and do little to provide satiety (the feeling that you are full).
*Drink a lot of water (8 to 12 cups a day).
*Weigh your food for a week. If you have never done this… it will blow your mind. Chances are you under report your daily calories. Measuring your intake to the gram will give you clarity on the truth behind what you eat.
NOTE: Weighing and measuring food obsessively can lead to a “diet mentality,” so be careful. Diet is a four letter word that starts with DIE (DIE = BAD). However; one week of measuring can serve to educate you on actual serving sizes (education = good).
For Lean Body Mass Gain
*Eat four to six meals per day. Insulin response to a meal stimulates protein synthesis.
*Spread protein intake out through the day to take advantage of the aforementioned tip.
*Keep in mind the post-workout window of opportunity. Ingestion of protein and carbohydrates within 90 minutes of a workout will increase recovery and protein synthesis, maximizing gains. This may be most easily accomplished with a liquid meal replacement formula that can be absorbed quickly due to being pre-digested. Food may take several hours to digest… missing the window.
*Do not neglect the importance of carbohydrates and fat. It takes more than protein to increase body mass.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Psychological fitness
Great athletes do not always make great leaders, and great leaders do not always make great athletes, but personal achievement and athletics go hand in hand.
Sports conditioning and rigorous training will yield many great results, a trimmer waistline, nice shoulders, thighs that don’t touch… but there are also psychological results to be attained through training your body.
The following are four major skills that can be developed through training:
Determination - Determination makes winners; the refusal to quit or accept defeat; the persistence to try and try again; and the willingness to practice long and hard. Determined athletes are relentless in their efforts to improve themselves and to win.
Responsibility - Winners accept total responsibility for their actions. Responsibility is taken for self – performance, and errors are viewed as learning experiences.
Leadership – The ability to take charge, to take personal responsibility for difficult tasks, to respect authority. Leadership is developed on the field, and in the gym. Becoming a great leader is preceded by being a great follower.
Mental Toughness - Mental Toughness is a huge factor in attaining one’s goals. Winners learn to accept strong criticism and intense training from demanding coaches. They recover quickly from setbacks and maintain composure when adversity is in their face.
Team sports and regular training cultivate character traits outside of fitness alone. Children are taught athletics and team sports at an early age so as to learn these skills. Continue this trend yourself, in the here and now, to drive performance and build your fitness resume.
Sports conditioning and rigorous training will yield many great results, a trimmer waistline, nice shoulders, thighs that don’t touch… but there are also psychological results to be attained through training your body.
The following are four major skills that can be developed through training:
Determination - Determination makes winners; the refusal to quit or accept defeat; the persistence to try and try again; and the willingness to practice long and hard. Determined athletes are relentless in their efforts to improve themselves and to win.
Responsibility - Winners accept total responsibility for their actions. Responsibility is taken for self – performance, and errors are viewed as learning experiences.
Leadership – The ability to take charge, to take personal responsibility for difficult tasks, to respect authority. Leadership is developed on the field, and in the gym. Becoming a great leader is preceded by being a great follower.
Mental Toughness - Mental Toughness is a huge factor in attaining one’s goals. Winners learn to accept strong criticism and intense training from demanding coaches. They recover quickly from setbacks and maintain composure when adversity is in their face.
Team sports and regular training cultivate character traits outside of fitness alone. Children are taught athletics and team sports at an early age so as to learn these skills. Continue this trend yourself, in the here and now, to drive performance and build your fitness resume.
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