This Week’s Best Links
You knew I was going to do it. Cop out on really thinking, researching and writing a blog article because I have a new toy – my ProForm Treadmill. Now that Bruno’s back in school all day I have time to experiment with different treadmill workouts. Today’s goal is to log as many 15 minute sessions as I can throughout the day. And I have a date with Tony Horton. Well, a DVD Power 90X workout date anyway.
So here’s some great reads to check out. Click on the links to read more.
Never Hit A Bodybuilding Plateau Again
by Shawn C. Lebrun
Personal Trainer/Bodybuilder
Hitting a training plateau is much like meeting your significant others' parents for the first time. You know that sooner or later it is going to come, but you will do anything to avoid it. Seriously though, your workouts should be very demanding. They should be intense and very focused. With this intensity comes the need to rest to allow your muscles to fully recuperate from the demand that you have placed on them.
Muscle growth is achieved by progressively overloading the muscles and then allowing them to recover before working them again. This forces them to adapt by adding new muscle to handle future demands placed upon them. However, if you never allow your muscles to fully recuperate, they will not be able to handle any new demands placed upon them. They will start getting weaker from less rest. That is how plateaus happen.
We are going to take necessary steps to combat this problem. We are going to systematically wipe out long-lasting plateaus, forever. We do this by training smarter, not just harder. Proper rest and recovery from working out is so important, it literally is the deciding force behind results and no results. We need an in-depth look as to how to fully recuperate and ensure max recovery. Here are some steps you can use immediately to avoid over training and hitting a plateau.
Metabolism Mistakes
Experts discuss the TOP metabolism mistakes, how they affect your progress or overall health, and why people keep falling into these traps.
Are You Lifting Enough Weight?
If you lift weights, have you ever wondered whether you're doing it right? Specifically, are you lifting enough weight? According to a study done by the University of Michigan, many of us aren't. Researchers took beginners (both men and women) through a series of moves, allowing them to choose their own weight. After assessing their 1 rep max (the general standard for choosing weight), they determined that most chose a weight well below what was needed to stimulate muscle growth.
Are you guilty of going too light? If so, you may not be seeing the results you'd like. Learn more about why lifting heavier weights could change your entire body.
The Low Carb Craze and Other Dieting Mistakes By: Bill Belfert
Low carb this and low carb that’s that's all you hear nowadays. Kinda reminds me of something that was the craze a few years ago. The Low or No Fat Craze. Can you remember where that got us? Still Fat!
Well my friends this Low Carb Craze is going to bring us to the same exact place. Yep. Still Fat!
Listen, anyone who tries Low carb dieting will experience some short term successful but it's only short term. I know some of you are tired of hearing me repeat myself but any diet or exercise machine in and of itself will not work!
A Successful Fitness Program Must Incorporate 5 Strategies:
1. A Compelling Reason to Change
2. Proper Nutrition
3. Progressive Resistance Training
4. Moderate Aerobic Exercise
5. Consistency
If you're missing any one of these strategies you will not experience the success that you crave.
Why the low carb diets without progressive resistance training will not work in the long run.
We need to build lean muscle on our bodies. Why do we need to build lean muscle on our bodies? Building lean muscle will boost metabolism and that is what we want to achieve. You'll even start burning more calories even while you rest. Right now I'm going to let you in on one of the biggest secrets on burning fat ever revealed:
Lean Muscle Burns Fat!
The Muscle Confusion Training Principle
One of the most basic, and most important of the training principles, is the muscle confusion training principle. This principle is all about ensuring you have a variety in your workouts. This will be a variety of sets, reps, exercises, rest periods, etc.
It is also important to train the muscle from the most efficient position, in which it has the greatest mechanical advantage / stress. It remains critically important to supplement those exercises with others utilizing various angles for certain exercises. Muscles should never be allowed to accommodate to an exercise to the point where the exercise is ineffective and doesn’t result in hypertrophy or the goal you were looking for. This variety will improve your motivation, keep you mentally fresh, and keep your muscles growing
The Biggest Dieting Mistakes
If you can avoid the biggest dieting mistakes you will have a much better chance of succeeding in your quest to lose weight and experience a lot less frustration along the way.
Weight Loss Plateaus and Pitfalls
It's kind of like running into a wall - that feeling you get when, after a few months on a weight-loss program, you suddenly stop seeing results.
This is called hitting a plateau and it is not uncommon. In fact, unless you continually update your program to reflect the changes your body has already experienced, you can almost be guaranteed to plateau at some point along your journey toward reaching your goal weight.
The association between exercise participation and well-being
Exercise participation is associated with higher levels of life satisfaction and happiness. This association is non-causal and appears to be mediated by genetic factors that influence both exercise behavior and well-being.
