SuperSets!

More Muscle – Less Time

This blog entry will look at ‘Supersets’, which is a concept designed to increase the rate in which we build muscle. The basic idea involves building more muscle in a shorter period of time.

What are supersets?

Supersets basically involve working the same muscles with two different exercises without a rest in between. An example would be doing a set of bench presses followed by a set of push ups.

How do we get bigger muscles?

With little rest in between each set, a workout that takes half an hour can now take 20-25 minutes. Using the example above, we would do 10 repetitions of the bench press and then immediately complete 20 repetitions of push ups. This works similar muscle groups without rest. We can then move on to the next muscle groups and complete, for example, chin ups followed by lat pull downs. We continue the exercises and repeat the routine. Two or three supersets will be sufficient!

We may find that we enjoy doing supersets, and we may find that they are simply not for us. As with any exercise regime it is always better to be comfortable and so we should only complete supersets in a controlled and safe manner!

A Push-Up Variation

Three-Point Push-Up

Push-ups are an exercise that should form some part of everybody’s basic workout regime. They are a fantastic exercise for keeping fit and healthy as well as strengthening the muscles of the chest, core, shoulders and arms. But, after a while, it is important to mix things up. This blog post is going to discuss a variation of the press up known as the three-point push-up.

How to do a three-point push-up

A three-point push-up is simple to do if we already know how to do a normal push-up. We get into the normal push-up position, but instead of having both feet on the floor we place one on top of the other, meaning our weight is distributed to three points as opposed to four. We then, as with basic push-ups, slowly lower ourselves to the floor, pause, and then return to the starting position for one rep. We should swap feet halfway through the set.

Why bother with a three point push-up?

This exercise works the same muscles as a basic push-up (the triceps, chest, core and shoulders) but these muscles get worked more intensely because our weight is distributed on three points rather than four. A basic push-up is one of the best exercises that there is - but a three-point push-up is even better!

For more information on push-ups in general, visit this fantastic webpage: Why Push-Up?

Isometric Training

What is Isometric Training?

Isometric training involves exercises that use static muscle contraction to work the muscle. This type of training and exercise involves no movement, so the muscles and joints do not move during the exercise. Like other forms of training, isometric training can lead to increased energy, hypertrophy and strength.

What are the benefits of isometric training?

There are many benefits to isometric training, and this is why they are commonly used to this day. Here, we will look at some of the main benefits associated with isometrics.

Isometrics build muscle mass. It is strongly suggested that muscle mass CAN be developed through isometric training, good news for all of us who like staring at the mirror.

Isometric training builds strength in the muscles. In fact, some people argue that you can build strength much more efficiently using isometric training as you work the muscles more intensely. There is strong evidence to support the idea that, because we hold a static position for 3-6 seconds we are sustaining maximal tension for a longer period of time than when we are lifting weights, for example.

Isometric training builds strength at an exact point in a certain exercise. This can be a valuable thing if we have a weakness in certain exercises.

However

It is generally advised that isometric training is used as a routine that supports our main workout as opposed to it being the sole focus of our exercise routines. So, to use isometrics correctly we should aim to incorporate it into our training regimes. Luckily, isometric training does not use too much energy so when fitting it into our workout we should not need to alter much.

Isometric Exercises

We can turn almost any exercise into an isometric exercise. All we need to do is hold a position in the exercise to make it isometric! We can, from this, target moments in our range of motion where we are not as strong and build these up.

Single Leg Squats - Pistols

Today I am going to talk about my new favourite exercise – Single Leg Squats. This exercise is also known as The Pistol! Now, I will say right off the bat that these are an incredibly difficult exercise to perfect, but are also very beneficial for leg power. Ok, single leg squatting is one of the most demanding exercises out there, but also one of the most beneficial.

How to do Single Leg Squats

To do the exercise, we begin by standing on one leg, with the other out in front of us. We keep our hands/arms to the side. We then bend at the standing knee, lowering our body as low as possible. When we are at the bottom, the foot is flat and our hamstrings will be resting on our calf. We then push back up to the original position, and this completes one rep. Easy?

Benefits of Single Leg Squats

There are a good number of benefits to the pistol and here are some:

Strength – the main benefit (in my mind) to single leg squats is the strength that we can gain from doing them. The muscles that will benefit are; glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and core.

Balance – another major benefit from doing single leg squats is the improved balance that can be developed. Our balance is challenged immensely while completing this exercise.

Co-ordination – linking in with balance, slightly, is the benefit that our co-ordination can be improved through completing the exercise. As we have to focus our body to multiple different actions our co-ordination is challenged and therefore can grow and improve.

Flexibility – through the exercise we can become more flexible in the legs and glutes.

This exercise is a fantastic exercise to include in our workout. As we progress we can add weights to make it more challenging and continue progress. Our legs become so powerful through these exercises, but we also receive many other benefits.

Protein

Protein

I have previously posted blog entries regarding carbohydrates, fats and dietary fibres. This entry looks to discuss protein.

What is Protein?

Proteins, as a nutrient, are chains of Amino acids that contain around 4 calories per gram. Amino acids can be divided into either essential amino acids or non-essential amino acids.

In nutrition, protein is broken down in the stomach in order to provide amino acids to the body, including essential amino acids that cannot be created by the body itself. Our body does not store protein so it is important that we eat it on a daily basis for a number of reasons.

Protein is needed by us humans in order to grow and maintain our condition. Experts advise consuming between 0.8 grams and 1.1 grams of protein per pound of your body weight, per day.

Benefits of Protein for Weight Loss

Protein is an essential thing for the body in general, but it can also be extremely important to people wanting to lose weight or fat.

An important factor of protein is that it takes longer to digest and leave your stomach. This leaves us feeling fuller for longer, and this means that we are less likely to unnecessarily snack between meals, therefore we eat fewer calories. 

Protein also burns more calories through digestion, and general use, and so this can aid in any weight loss we are attempting.

It is important to note here that this blog IS NOT promoting an Atkins/high protein diet, or anything similar. I do not agree with these types of diets and am merely showing how through eating the right way protein can help lose weight.

Benefits of Protein for Muscle Growth

When weight training, our bodies need protein to develop and maintain muscle. Protein is used to repair the tiny tears that are made when we exercise. The protein also helps to increase the muscle mass. Because amino acids can be burned by the body during exercise it is essential that we refuel our muscles with protein, as well as carbohydrates.

Research appears to suggest that it is important to have protein shortly before and shortly after weight/resistance training to fuel our muscles and allow them to repair and grow.

Other Benefits of Protein

Protein, as well as the benefits previously mentioned, has a number of other benefits too. These include, but are not limited to;

• Repairing injured/torn tissue
• Protein also helps build skin, hair, nails and cartilage
• Prevention of various conditions such as anaemia and hypotension
• Helps with circulation
• Heals injuries

Be careful with Protein

As with all food intakes there are things to be careful of. There is, of course, a risk of eating too much protein. This can lead to excess calories, and potential weight gain. Also, if we eat too much protein and not enough carbohydrates the body can form ketones and release them into the blood.

Conclusions

Protein is something that we need to intake everyday. It is so important for our everyday health, but can also help us with weight loss and muscle building. As with all food, it is important that we do not over eat it though.

10 Minute Workout

I read of an interesting workout from Craig Ballantyne, C.S.C.S. on the Men’s Health website. The workout is, according to the website, designed to get our body off to the right start first thing in the morning in order for us to burn fat. This is a short, explosive workout! The workout comprises 5 exercises and requires NO equipment at all. I really like the idea of this workout and, after completing it a few times myself now, it really does work the body in this short space of time. This is why I wish to share it.

1. The first exercise is 20 repetitions of jumping jacks (star jumps). To do this we begin with our feet slightly apart and hands by the side. We jump, spreading our legs shoulder-width apart, whilst at the same time raise our hands above heads, before jumping again bringing the arms down and the feet back together.

2. The second exercise in the workout is prisoner squats. To do a prisoner squat we stand with our chest out and our hands behind our head. We sit back at the hips and lower the body as far as possible by bending the knees, without moving the back. We then push back up. We should aim to complete 12 repetitions of this exercise.

3. The third exercise is one of my favourite exercises; push ups. To complete push ups we get our legs straight with our backs and rest on our hands that are beneath our shoulders. We bend our arms, maintaining the straight line from feet to head, until the chest reaches the ground, and then we push back up. This exercise requires 15 reps.

4. The fourth exercise of the workout is forward lunges. These are quite difficult to master but are beneficial. From our standing position we step forward with one leg. We bend both knees until the front leg is parallel to the floor and we hold this position briefly before returning to the standing position. The aim here is to complete 12 reps with each leg.

5. The final exercise of the workout is one that I had not come across before and is known as stickups. We stand with our back to the wall and feet slightly off the wall. We then place the back of our arms against the wall with the upper arms parallel to the floor and the elbow bent at 90 degrees. We keep the arms against the wall at all times while raising them above our head and slowly returning to the start position. We aim to complete 10 repetitions.

So this is the workout and it really is effective. I would suggest trying this out first thing on a morning once of twice a week and see what results you get from it. I would also suggest adjusting the number of repetitions to suit your needs.

3 Eating Rules that Bodybuilders Use

Today I found an interesting article that discusses three eating rules that bodybuilders follow. So if you are wanting to bulk up in muscle, then take a look at these ideas.

1. The first rule is to never skip breakfast (bodybuilding or not, you should never skip breakfast by the way). In terms of building and maintaining muscle, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The main point behind this rule is that the longer you wait before eating after you wake up, then the longer the body remains in ‘fat storage mode’. This means that muscle is broken down and used for fuel, but eating sooner stops this from happening.

2. The second rule in the article is to eat protein and carbohydrates after a workout. Again, this seems to me like something we should be doing anyway, whether we are trying to build up or not. However, in terms of bulking up this is important as muscle growth is sped up through eating protein and the carbs are to refuel and aid in muscle repair.

3. The final rule is to take a daily dose of creatine. Research has shown that older men taking creatine have increased muscle strength and power after just seven days. The article claims no side effects to creatine but great gains. You should certainly do your own research when using supplements and be careful but studies seem to support the benefits of creatine.

So these are the eating rules for body building but these rules can be useful in helping with weight loss, toning up and building lean muscle too, we just have to adapt them to our workouts.

Tests of Fitness

Upon browsing the internet I came across a page that offered 6 tests of fitness. The idea is to complete the set exercises and a rating is given as to how well we complete each exercise. Now, I would not consider these rating accurate myself, the tests certainly give goals to aim for. For example, being able to only do 10 body-weight squats is not poor (despite these tests indicating so), it is an excellent exercise to build strength. Here are the tests though:

The Plank – get in the push up position but rest on the elbows and forearms. Keep the back straight. Hold the position for as long as possible. Here are the ratings for The Plank; if you can hold for 2 minutes or more then you get an excellent rating, 75secs to 2 minutes is good, 45 seconds to 75 seconds is average and anything less is poor!

Body-weight Squat – keep the feet shoulder width apart and lower the thighs slowly until they are parallel with the floor and slowly raise back up. The ratings for a body-weight squat are; 50 or more reps is excellent, 30-49 is good, 16-29 is average and 15 or less is considered poor.

Press-up – straight back, hands on the floor, bend the elbows lowering the chest to the floor, and raise again. The ratings for a press ups are; 50 or more reps is excellent, 30-49 is good, 16-29 is average and 15 or less is considered poor.

1km Run – simply run a kilometre. The ratings for this run are; 3 minutes or less gets an excellent rating, 3mins-3min 29 seconds is good, 3mins 30secs to 4mins 29 seconds is average and any longer is considered poor.

500m Row – obviously we require a rowing machine for this part of the test, and the idea is to complete a 500m row as fast as possible. The ratings are; 1min 30 sec or less is excellent, 1min 31sec–1min 44sec is good, 1min 45sec–1min 59sec is average and 2min or more is poor.

Pull up – the final test is pull ups, one of the hardest exercises out there. 12 or more reps is excellent, 8–11 reps is good, 4–7 reps is average and 3 or fewer is poor.

I would be careful not to take the ratings too seriously, as we all have different levels and I would say that these tests should be used to set goals for our self rather than put us down if we hit ‘poor’ in a rating. That being said, all these exercises are useful and can help improve our fitness and health levels.