Muscle Facts Versus Fiction

If you've been weight training, here's a short list of bodybuilding myths that are fictional - and the corresponding truths that will help you safely make the most of your weight training workouts.

1. The 12 Rep Rule

Cover of The Truth

Most weight training programs include this many repetitions for gaining muscle. The truth is this approach doesn't give the muscles enough tension for effective muscle gain. High tension (e.g. heavy weights) provides muscle growth in which the muscle grows much larger, leading to the maximum gains in strength. Having  longer tension time boosts the muscle size by generating the structures around the muscle fibers, improving endurance.

The standard prescription of eight to 12 repetitions with medium weights provides a balance, but by just using that program all of the time, you do not generate the greater tension levels that are provided by heavier weights and lesser reps. Change the number of reps and adjust the weights to stimulate all types of muscle growth - you want some lower weights and more repetitions, and some with higher weight and fewer reps.

2. The Three Set Rule

The truth is there's nothing wrong with three sets but then again there is nothing amazing about it either. The number of sets you perform should be based on your goals and not on a half-century old rule. The more repetitions you do on an exercise, the fewer sets you should do, and vice versa. This keeps the total number of repetitions of a given exercise equal.

3. Three to four exercises per group

The truth is this is a waste of time. Combined with twelve reps of three sets, the total number of reps amount to 144. If your doing this many reps for a muscle group, you're not using heavy enough weights to make much of a difference for most of your muscles. Instead of doing so many varieties of exercises, try doing 30 to 50 reps total. That can be anywhere from 2 sets of  15 reps or 5 sets of 10 reps.

Upright squat (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

4. My knees, my toes
It is a gym folklore that you “should not let your knees go past your toes." Truth is that leaning forward a little too much is more likely a cause of injury. In 2003, Memphis University researchers confirmed that knee stress was almost thirty percent higher when the knees are allowed to move beyond the toes during a squat.

But hip stress increased nearly 10 times or (1000 percent) when the forward movement of the knee was restricted, because the squatters needed to lean their body forward and that forces the strain to transfer to the lower back.

Focus on your upper body position and less on the knee. Keep the torso in an upright position as much as possible when doing squats and lunges. This  reduces the stress generated on the hips and back. To stay upright, before squatting, squeeze the shoulder blades together and hold them in that position; and then as you squat, keep the forearms 90 degrees to the floor.

5. Use your abs to lift weights

The truth is the muscles work in groups to stabilize the spine, and the most important muscle group changes depending on the type of exercise. The transverse abdominis is not always the most important muscle group. Actually, for most exercises, the body automatically activates the muscle group that is needed most for support of the spine. So if you focus only on the transverse abdominis, it can recruit wrong muscles and limit the right muscles. This increases the chance of injury, and reduces the weight that can be lifted. Listen to your body - it knows best! If you have an ingrained habit of intentionally tensing your stomach muscles when lifting, try relaxing your body, then lift a lighter weight, and see where your muscles naturally flex to complete the movement. Once you know which muscle group is engaged for each various exercise, you'll strengthen the correct muscles for each movement, and get a more complete workout.

The Pros and Cons of Isometric Exercise

Before bodybuilding became popular, a different muscle building routine, called isometric exercises, were all the rage.  These exercises are static, meaning you apply pressure and the hold it.  For instance, you could push your arms up against the wall and hold it.  While these exercises aren’t as popular as they used to be, they do provide several benefits:

* It works.  Isometric exercises are great at building the specific sections of muscle groups that you're focused on, actually providing more muscle contraction than weight lifting and strength training that involves movement.

Isometric calf stretch (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

* It’s cheap.  Traditional isometric exercises require no gym membership and no expensive machines.  They use walls and body weight to provide adequate resistance.

* It’s fast and easy.  Isometric exercises can be done in your spare time almost anywhere.  Even if you can’t fit in a full workout, you can take a couple minutes out of your day to do a few exercises and still benefit.

This type of exercise used to be so popular, so why don’t we hear much about it anymore?  One big reason is that it was replaced by traditional body building - partly because there are a few drawbacks to this type of workout.

* Raises blood pressure.  During isometric exercises, people tend to hold their breath.  This causes a jump in blood pressure that could cause serious problems. However, this is an incorrect use of the method. If you perform these exercises, make sure to monitor your breathing, and breathe steadily and evenly.

* Too specific.  While bodybuilding works your muscles through the entire range of motion, isometric exercises only work a specific part of the muscle group at one time.  To achieve the effects of weight lifting, you need to perform the exercises at many different angles and positions.

Despite these drawbacks, isometrics are still being used and can be beneficial when incorporated properly into your workout instead of simply replacing it.  Here are a few ways to add isometric exercises into your workout routine and get the benefits without the drawbacks.

* Do them at work.  Don’t have time to go to the gym and lift weights?  There are many simple isometric exercises you can do while at work using the wall, your desk, or your own body as resistance.  Why not skip getting an extra cup of coffee in the afternoon and do a quick workout instead?

Isometric exercise: one armed pull-ups (Photo credit: Claudio Brisighello)

* Add modern equipment.  Isometric exercise was the precursor to traditional body building, so it didn’t have the benefits of all the equipment we have available now.  Modern isometric workouts include training tools like free weights and resistance bands.  Isometric exercise simply uses these tools while staying still instead of in motion.

* Mix it up.  Instead of doing an extra workout to add in isometric exercises, add them to your current routine.  For instance, if you lift weights, hold the weight in a steady position for several breaths after you’re done with your reps. 

While you shouldn’t use it as your only strength-building routine, isometric exercise can be a great addition to improve any body. Check back later this week for some more info on isometrics and how to perform them properly.

Adding Strength Training To Your Fitness Routine

This week we are focusing on a few beginner-type resources for those new to an exercise program. If you're out of shape and haven't worked out in a while, it is important to ease back into it at a pace gentle enough to prevent injury (and getting discouraged), but consistent enough to really start making exercise a habit you enjoy. It's also important to add strength training into your routine.

Strength training offers a number of significant benefits. It helps your bones and muscles stay strong. It prevents disease and helps you develop better body mechanics. Muscles look sexy too. However, the most important reason to add strength training to your fitness routine may be because it helps you lose more weight.

Strength Training Circuit-2 (Photo credit: Phil Manker)

At the Gym Or At Home?

The first question to answer is do you want to go to the gym or work out at home? If you’re using weights, it is recommended that you first make sure you’re lifting them properly. Improper form can cause serious damage and injury. But you don’t have to use weights to strength train. You can use the weight of your body and objects around the house as well.

Split Routine

The next step is to create a strength training plan. Ideally, you’re adding it to an existing routine. That means you’ll want to break up your strength training into smaller segments. For example one day you can work on your upper body. The next day you can focus on your lower body. You might spend another day targeting your core muscles.

Finding Exercises

Most people already know the basics. You’re familiar with a push up and a sit up. These are strength training exercises that you can begin with at home. However, you’ll probably advance beyond these basics pretty quickly. There are many videos, DVDs, and books you can use to help you create your exercise training plan.

Circuit strength training (Photo credit: Kizzlexy)

If you’re planning on heading to the gym to use the weights or buying weights for home use, be sure to get a quick education on how to use the machines and proper form. Working out with the proper form will help you get faster and better results. It also helps prevent injury.

Start Small

It’s okay to start small, especially when you’re adding a new fitness program or routine. Consider ending your workout with five minutes of strength training. Experts recommend strength training after your muscles are warmed up. You may want to walk for a few minutes before you train.

Additionally, you’ll probably start with your body weight or with light weights. Experts recommend being able to do eight to ten repetitions and three sets. If you can’t complete the sets then you may be using too much weight. As your strength increases so too will your confidence. You’ll begin to see your body change, and you'll also begin enjoying your newfound sense of strength and fitness - it's a great thing!

 

Strength Training for Children?

When most people think of strength training, they imagine big buff body builders.  But contrary to popular belief, when done properly, strength training can be safe and beneficial to your child. Here are a number of benefits children can receive from strength training:

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

• Helps with sports performance.  Many preteens want to start a strength training program to improve their sports capabilities.  When done properly, strength training can help your child become a better athlete.  Just remember that it should be used to help with sport performance, not be a sport itself.  Pre-teens and teens' bodies are not ready for extreme muscle building.

• Can prevent injuries.  The stronger your child is, the less likely they are to hurt themselves when participating in other physical activities.  You may think that they can hurt themselves through strength training, but injuries are usually minor and can mostly be avoided when proper technique is used.

• Improves child’s stamina.  This is helpful when it comes to sports, but can be a plus in all aspects of life.  Improved stamina can help your child get through long, physically and mentally demanding days with less pain and stress.

• Improves overall physical health.  Strength training can strengthen bones, lower cholesterol, improve heart and lung function and help your child maintain a healthy body composition - all very important things considering today's growing epidemic of obesity.

• Teaches healthy exercise habits.  With the percentage of obese children today, most parents should be concerned about teaching their child healthy exercise practices, and strength training is a way to do it.  They’ll learn to be able to stick with a healthy exercise program and not overdo it.  For this reason, you should also incorporate regular aerobic activity into your child’s schedule. 

• Builds self esteem.   A lot of how your child feels about himself or herself comes from the way they look.  If they start looking and feeling better, they’ll feel better about themselves.  They will also build their self esteem by knowing that they can set goals and achieve them in a healthy manner - which is a great skill to take into adulthood.

Strength Training (Photo credit: Rtist MrB)

However, if considering strength training for your child, there are some safety concerns to be aware of.  If you’re going to let your child do strength training, make sure it is done properly, and take into account the following tips.

• Don’t start too young.  In order to master strength training, a child must be able to do the movements in proper form.  Young children are still learning to control their motor functions and shouldn’t be distracted by building muscle

• Consult your child’s pediatrician.  You doctor can not only tell you if your child is physically capable of starting strength training, they can also help you choose an appropriate exercise program and safety measures.

• Start slow.  Make sure your child has mastered the movements before allowing weights or other forms of resistance to be added.  Many injuries in strength training are caused by incorrect form.  In order to keep your child healthy, be sure they can perform the activity without resistance before letting them use weights.  Remember to add weights slowly.  Strength training is meant to help your child, not get them stronger as fast as possible.  A child should be able to do 15 reps of an exercise properly before moving on to more resistance.

If you follow these safety guidelines, you will start to see all the benefits that strength training can bring to your child’s life in no time.

What’s the Ideal Amount of Exercise to Lose Weight?

Here is a great article by fitness expert Yuri Elkaim. We love Yuri's approach because he focuses on total-body fitness and wellness - taking a holistic approach to fitness and exercise. Check this one out for some great info.

What’s the Ideal Amount of Exercise to Lose Weight?
Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
www.myFitterU.com

Ah, yet another thought-provoking exercise question. How much is enough??? Well, it depends. What do you classify as exercise and how do you structure your workouts?

To give you some more clarity on the question of workout frequency, let me break it down for you.

START WITH WALKING

Our bodies were meant to move, not sit. The bare minimum amount of activity needs to be daily walking for at least 30-45 minutes. And it shouldn't be a lazy stroll. You should be walking at a moderate to fast pace so that you can slightly hear your breathing. Walking is so important for your health and your ability to lose weight. It's no wonder that Europeans are more slim than North Americans - they walk more!

HOW MUCH CARDIO SHOULD I DO?

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I wouldn't stress too much about doing hours and hours of cardio. What you'll realize is that full body workouts that engage a lot of muscle will actually give you an incredible cardio workout. 

If anything, you should be interval training for your cardio workouts. You can do as little as 10 minutes after your workouts or dedicate 1 to 2 days a week to cranking 20-25 minutes of intense interval training. And, believe me, that's all you'll be able to do.

WHAT ABOUT STRENGTH TRAINING?

Strength training is truly the key to losing weight and maintaining a lean and fit body. I'm not a big fan of bodybuilding workout routines that break up workouts into body parts, like doing chest and back. It's not functional and doesn't serve much purpose besides gaining size. If that's your goal then terrific. If not, then you need to be doing full body strength training workouts at least every other day. That means you should be working out 3-4 times a week.

What you need to be doing, especially if you want to lose weight and get fit, is increase the intensity of your workouts and train movements - not muscles. The easiest way to do that is use heavier weights and challenge yourself with only 6-10 reps using full body exercises like squats, lunge walks, deadlifts, pull-ups, and step-ups - just to name a few.

The reason that you want to train using full body exercises is that you target all your muscles - not just 1 or 2. As a result, you strengthen your body as a whole and burn more calories in the process. Burn more calories? Yup! Because you involve more muscle mass, you inherently burn more calories because your body will require more oxygen to fuel the given movements.

And since you're not breaking up your workouts into "split routines" that target specific muscle groups you won't have to hit the gym 6 or 7 times a week. Instead, because full body workouts train all your muscles, your body will need 24-48 hours rest between workouts. Therefore, working out every day wouldn't make sense, and would actually be detrimental. Rest and recovery are key components to getting stronger and achieving your fitness goals. So those 2-3 days of rest are important especially if you're sweating up a storm and challenging your muscles each time you hit the gym.

A complete weight training workout can be performed with a pair of adjustable dumbbells and a set of weight disks (plates). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

SAMPLE WORKOUT

Repeat this workout for 3 sets. For each superset, take 30-60 seconds rest only once you've completed a set of each exercise (therefore no rest in between).

SUPERSET #1

DB Swings x 8 reps

Stability Ball Roll-outs x 8 reps

SUPERSET #2

Step-ups x 8 reps (each leg)

Bench Press x reps

SUPERSET #3

Squat Presses x 8 reps

Pull-ups x maximum reps

Remember to take at least 1-day rest in between each workout. Repeat this workout 3-4 times per week and you’ll be on your way to losing weight and getting fit in no time!

About the Author

Yuri Elkaim is a world-renowned fitness, nutrition, and weight loss expert. He is the creator Fitter U and Treadmill Trainer, author of Eating for Energy, and the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for men's soccer program at the University of Toronto. His trademarked 12-week Fitter U iPod workout program has been helping thousands of people around the world get in shape and lose weight fast without the cost and inconvenience of hiring a trainer. Click Here to go to www.myFitterU.com now to get your FREE Fitter U workout and "How to Get Fit and Lose Weight Fast" report!

Body Sculpting To Get Fit and Firm

Do you struggle with problem areas? Many people want to tone up their backside. They want to get rid of their “muffin top.” Or they want to shape their arms and legs. Toning and strength training work quite well when they’re combined with cardiovascular exercise.

Image by Ed Yourdon via FlickrWhy Cardio to Tone Muscles?

Cardio exercise, exercises that kick up your heart rate, are necessary because they burn fat. Your beautiful muscles cannot be seen if they’re covered by a layer of fat. When you combine a toning and strength training program with a bit of cardio you’ll see results fast. You’ll burn calories and fat and you’ll tone your muscles. In short, you’ll get that body you’ve been dreaming about.

What’s an Ideal Routine to Sculpt Muscles?

Muscle sculpting is another term for toning. It’s generally achieved through a series of very specific exercises designed to give you that ‘sculpted’ look. For example, if you want to achieve six pack abdominals then you’d sculpt those muscles. You’d perform crunches, sit-ups and other exercises all designed to sculpt and tone all of your abdominal muscles. If you wanted to sculpt an ideal backside then you’d perform exercises designed to tone your top, side and bottom gluteus muscles.

Of course, you still want to burn fat while you’re sculpting. An ideal routine to accomplish body sculpting results would include five to six weekly workouts. Your workouts will either alternate between cardio and strength training or you’d combine both in each workout. For example, you’d do twenty minutes of cardio followed by twenty minutes of strength training.


The FIRM Body Sculpting DVD Set can help you achieve the results you’re looking for. This three pack series offers a whopping 210 total minutes of cardio and strength training workouts. It includes options for both types of trainers. If you want to alternate cardio and strength training workouts you can. If you prefer to combine them both into one workout, you can do that too. The set includes:

* Total Sculpt – a whole body workout
* Firm Abs – Focus just on your abdominals
* Complete Aerobics and Weight Training – for those serious workout days
* Maximum Cardio Burn – Burn fat fast!

The set usually retails for $49.98 however you can often find it on sale. It makes good fitness and financial sense to invest in a set like the FIRM Body Sculpting set because you get variety in your workouts and you save money. It enables you to receive all of the benefits of a personal trainer and workout classes but you can do it in the comfort of your home – when you have the time and energy to work out!

If you’re seeking a beach body or you simply want to get into better shape, consider the FIRM Body Sculpting DVD set. There are several different FIRM workouts to choose from now, and the FIRM series of fitness videos and products continues to be a stand out success. It’s a great package at a great price.

The Top 3 FIRM Workouts: