Beach Body Abs

With the return of warm weather in the spring, thoughts can never be too far behind of the approaching summer and the many wonderful outdoor activities that we'll often associate with it and among our top favorite summertime activities will always be the trip to the beach. Warm blue skies, refreshing ocean breezes, hot sand, cool waves and the many attempts at constructing the perfect sand castle; you can swear you're almost there just thinking of it. But that mental image just wouldn't be complete without also including images of hard, bronze bodies in attractive swimsuits soaking up the sun. Let's face it, attractive physiques will always be a top draw at the beach and the abs, or midsection, is the first thing that everyone notices.

But showing off beach body caliber abs certainly don't come easy. Successful ab training is a combination of a healthy, lean diet, consistent cardio work, and a comprehensive abdominal training plan. While all of that may sound daunting, it is certainly within your ability to attain a chiseled midsection that other beach goers will positively ogle at, and you certainly still have enough time to do so. This article will provide you with the steps you'll need to take to help you look your beach-body best.

Diet

The first thing you're going to have to change will be your diet. It goes without saying that even if you had the best abs in the world, it will still look pretty ordinary if a layer of bodyfat covers it. Diet plays a crucial role in defining your midsection so some modifications will be required in order for your body to look it's best. To begin with, get into the habit of using a diet log to keep track of your meals. Everyone is less likely to cheat when they know they have to write down everything they've eaten each day. An elaborate journal isn't necessary either; a simple notepad can work just fine. Also, begin switching to six small meals a day now instead of three larger ones to help rev up your metabolism as well as prevent the stretching of the stomach and the abdominal walls which occurs when one gorges themselves in food.

Next, you'll want to start creating a slight caloric deficit each day to help burn away the bodyfat. It is recommended that you work on losing only a pound or two, a week, of bodyfat. The weekly loss of any more weight than this, for the typical person, probably includes substantial amounts of water weight and muscle tissue and can wreck havoc on your metabolism. Remember, it's the bodyfat that's covering your abs that you'll want to lose so a good rule of thumb is to cut back your daily energy requirements by only around 500 calories a day.

Now if you're not sure what your daily energy requirements are for your current bodyweight (or the amount of calories you will have to consume each day to stay at your current weight), you can use this easy-to-remember formula as a guide. To estimate your daily total caloric needs, multiply 24 times 1.0 (if you're a man) or 0.9 (if you're a woman) by each kilogram of bodyweight you weigh. Then multiply that result by 1.7 (for a moderately active man) or 1.6 (for a moderately active woman).

(Men) 1.7 x 24 x 1.0 x bodyweight (in kg)

(Women) 1.6 x 24 x 0.9 x bodyweight (in kg)

To determine how many kilograms you weigh, divide your bodyweight in pounds by 2.2. Remember though that this formula is only a guide. It is highly recommended that you use the formula as a starting point, and then pay close attention to your body in order to fine-tune your calories according to how your body responds to your efforts. Look at your body in a mirror, if it doesn't appear (or feel) as if your body is losing any weight after a week or two, then reduce the amount of calories you ingest even more.

Cardio

You'll next want to start including cardio (aerobic exercises) into your weekly routine. There are few short-term options that can burn calories and strip away the bodyfat better than sessions of aerobic activities. It is no coincidence that even top-level bodybuilders will steadily increase their cardio workouts as a contest approaches to help really bring out their muscle definition. Begin by working out 3-4 times per week for 20 to 30 minutes at a time on a treadmill or a stationary exercise bike. Then work your way up to more intense sessions of at least moderate intensity for 45 minutes or longer by weeks 3 and 4. The last few weeks before you hit the beach, you'll want to include interval training into your routine to really help blast away the last few pounds of bodyfat.

Exercise

Spot-reducing your way to abdominal definition is a myth. It is impossible to localize fat loss over any one specific area of your body and is the reason why it is important for you to also watch your diet and include aerobic training if you truly wish to showcase some beach-body abs. But the inclusion of some solid abdominal training is still important for great abs. Strengthening the abdominal wall will tone and help reduce, if not prevent, any unnecessary sagging of the belly. Also, abdominal workouts will certainly develop the muscles of the ab (particularly the rectus abdominus and the external obliques) and enable them to easily become more visible, sharper and tight.

While there are literally hundreds of abdominal exercises to choose from, it is important that several considerations are first kept in mind before performing any of them. First, it is strongly recommended that you learn how to focus on feeling the contraction of your abs when exercising and really squeeze the muscle at the top of any rep. There are many individuals out there who lay claim to performing several hundred sit-ups per day, but it is the quality that counts here and not necessarily the quantity. Become more efficient when performing your abdominal exercises and allow the muscle do the work and do not use the mechanical involvement of other bodyparts or even momentum to help swing the body in order to complete any reps. Additionally, make sure that you maintain continuous tension while performing your reps and never allow your body to rest at the bottom of a movement. Finally, be sure to breathe in during the relaxation phase of your movements and exhale during the contraction phase of the reps.

Having now prepared yourself, choose three exercises to perform for your abs and complete 2 sets, of 15 - 20 reps on each exercise, three times a week. Once again, focus on squeezing the muscle at the top of the movement and go in a slow, deliberate manner during each repetition. Recommended abdominal exercises for beginners during their first week would be crunches (with legs supported on a bench), seated twists, and knee-ups or lying leg raises. As the next few weeks progresses and your conditioning improves, you will need to increase the intensity factor for the abs to really shine. Begin by increasing the number of sets of each exercise from two to three and then add additional, more advanced, movements to allow for up to five exercises for your abs. Recommended abdominal exercises during this stage could include reverse crunches, crunches on an incline board, vertical leg raises, medicine-ball twists and decline-bench twisting crunches. You literally have from hundreds of movements to choose from. During the last two weeks before you hit the beach, begin cutting back on the rest time between your sets and also start to include supersets of your exercises in which you complete one set of each exercise without stop.

While there are still other factors that could be included for consideration of your ab training, consistently eating a lean diet, performing cardio work and exercising your abs with sufficient intensity will always remain at its core. Put in the work on those three tenets of abdominal development and you'll be sure to possess a beach-body that will look great in a bathing suit and absolutely turn heads this summer!

Nathan Boyd is author of the highly rated ebook, "The Fitness Lifestyle" and the current Director of Pro Fitness of Texas. Nathan encourages everyone in their pursuit of becoming physically fit and maintaining it for a lifetime. All questions and comments are always welcomed!

5 Diet Fitness Tips You Can Use Toda

Are you ready to live a more powerful life by taking control of your
weight and physical condition? If so, here are five ideas that can
start you on the path to a healthier, slimmer body today.

1. Stop using remote controls. Remote controls are the bane of a
prospective weight loser. They may be remarkable gadgets by
themselves but from the weight loss point of view, they just aren't
very helpful.

They really encourage us to take a laid back kind of attitude
towards life itself. In fact if remote controls were not there, the
television would not have become so popular. It is because of remote
controls that people can remain where they are and switch from one
channel to the other. And they only have to twitch a finger muscle to
achieve this.

Now, I have nothing against multi-channel television sets but what I
strongly advocate is that you get up from where you are and change
the channel of the TV each time you want to do so.

2. Try massaging your partner on a regular basis. This is a fun way
to lose weight. It is something that can give your partner a lot of
pleasure and at the same time can give you a lot of exertion there by
leading to weight loss.

The attitude should of course be you scratch my back I
will scratch yours. It should not be a one sided effort or else the
interest will soon dwindle.

In fact, it is a good idea if couples take up weight loss routines
together. They can keep watch over each other, help control those
urges to eat and motivate each other to stick to the routine.

There are a lot of things that couples can do together that can help
them to keep physically active...

3. Try breathing exercises. You might be surprised to know that
breathing exercises too can lead to weight loss. If you are doing the
breathing exercises properly, you will find that you can exert a lot
of pressure on the muscles around the mid section.

You can feel a tightening of these muscles each time you breathe in
or breathe out. So go ahead and breathe properly, it is good for you.

4. Join a dance class. Dancing is a wonderful way to burn off those
extra calories. It is true. When you dance you are in fact burning
away a lot of calories. Of course we are not referring to the slow
ballroom kind of dances in which one person actually leans on the
other one for support. We are talking about fast dances.

The best way to do it is by joining a jazz or hip-hop dance class
because they will really work you out. I would suggest that you wait
for a couple more pounds to vanish before you think of becoming a
ballerina.

5. At the very least, do things like fetching, turning things off
and on by yourself. Often when we come back tired from work, we tend
to get others to do simple chores for us. These things are no big
deal. They are things that we can very well do for our selves but we
don't.

That is why we often ask our kids to fetch us this or take away that.

Training your pet is a wonderful thing indeed. It is quite
remarkable how some people get their dogs to fetch them something.
But the fact is that while you may be making sure that your dog is
getting a lot of exercise, you are neglecting your bit of the story!

Outer Triceps Workout

The outer triceps is an awesome muscle. It sticks out like a slab of muscle on your outer arm and makes your arm look thick from the front. When your standing side on the outer triceps looks like a half moon sitting there on your arm and screams POWER!

So how to do you work the tail of the triceps? Well the best known and common triceps outer head exercise is the standing triceps press down on the lat machine... but everyone does those already and there are not allot of great outer triceps out there, so what else works those little buggers?

First off any barbell or dumbbell movement with palms of hands facing up works the outside triceps more than the long or medial heads. Biggest point though is "LOCK OUT THE ARMS!" So basically keeps the palms up, or reversed and lock out and hold. Those are the most important issues to cover when targeting the outer triceps.

If you have weak wrists and cannot target your outer triceps with the palms up, then with palms down the outer triceps can only be worked specifically in moves where the upper arms never leave the side of the body (like the lat machine press down) and are fully locked out. If the arm rotates or the elbow moves forward then the long triceps is called into contraction and extension and so no outer triceps for you!

Another beauty for the triceps tail is "lying dumbbell extensions." These work the outer head of the triceps and give the shape and thickness needed for total development of the triceps as long as you lock them out and give a little twist at the top so the your palms face your head.

The last exercise that I use to work the outer triceps is "Triceps Bench Dips." This is a good exercise that works all of the triceps, but it emphasizes the outer head a little more. The great thing about this exercise is that you can push it all the way to failure, get a great pump, and your totally safe and don't need a spotter. Be careful not to let your butt drift away from the bench or you will use too much deltoid and take the outer head right out of the picture.

Here is an outer triceps workout

Reverse grip pushdown 4 sets of 8-10 reps

Super set:

Lying dumbbell extensions with a twist and Bench dips
4 sets of 10-12 reps or failure on the dips.

Here's to some wicked triceps heads!

"Finally! A Quick and Easy Way For YOU To Create Your Own Fat Free, Swimsuit Ready Body... Without Being a Spandex Wearing Gym Nut or Paying Outrageous Fees To A Personal Trainer!" (Even If You Can Barely Do A Pushup..)

Grab your free weight training workout (complete program and diet) as well as a ton of other workout routines you can read through to break through to that next level.

Exercise The Right Way - The Deadlift

Other articles in this series looked at a number of exercises, mainly from the perspective of developing a comprehensive muscle building program. Sometimes we take things for granted, especially when it comes to performing the basic exercises that constitute the core of most bodybuilders' training regimes. It is useful, therefore, to describe in detail the processes involved in actually doing these exercises. This will help beginners to start out using the correct techniques before moving on to potentially more dangerous heavy weights. If it also helps more experienced lifters to redress some of the little faults that have almost imperceptibly crept in over the years, all the better. In this article we'll take a close look at the deadlift. MUSCLES TARGETED: gluteus maximus, semimembranosus, semitendinosis, biceps femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, vastus medialis, rectus femoris STARTING POSITION Stand with feet flat and placed slightly less than shoulder width with toes pointed slightly outward.
Squat down with hips lower than shoulders and grasp the bar with a closed, alternated grip.
Place hands on bar slightly wider than shoulder width apart, outside knees and with elbows fully extended.
Place bar roughly 1 inch in front of shins and over balls of feet. UPWARD MOVEMENT Lift bar off floor by extending hips and knees.
Maintain a flat back and keep hips ahead of shoulders.
Keep elbows fully extended.
Keep bar as close to shins as possible.
When bar passes knees move the hips forward.
Keep body erect at point of full knee and hip extension. DOWNWARD MOVEMENT Allow the hips and knees to flex to slowly lower the bar to the floor.
Repeat or finish set.

Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding Exercises [http://www.bodybuildingadvisor.com/bodybuilding-exercises-articles.html] to learn more about the issues covered in this article.

All You Need to Know About Lean Muscle and Lean Muscle Body

So, you have heard this term being thrown around in some contexts. But, what really is lean muscle. Is it a type of muscle? Is it a type of body? Is it some kind of supplement? Lets find out.

What is Lean Muscle?

Technically there is no such thing. The most logical term that is closely associated with it is "Lean Body Mass". Lean body mass is nothing but (your body weight - fat weight in your body) expressed in percentage terms. So, the lower the fat content the higher is your Lean Body mass. One of the constituents of the lean body mass are the muscles. But, obviously it does not mean that if you have lower fat content in your body you have great muscles. You could be a skinny guy with very low fat content and yet have a high lean body mass.

So, what is lean muscle mass then? Well if there was a way to measure the accurate mass / weight of muscle tissues in our body, then a good lean muscle body would have a high Muscle to Fat ratio. But, of course this kind of metric is not spoken about in any literature. But, it just gives you an indication of what it means in physiological terms.

Lean Muscle Body (LMB) is often used to describe the visual appearance of a person. This type of a body is used to describe a person who is not very bulky (like professional body builders), they are lean. Yet, they possess a well chiseled muscular look. In short, they are athletic yet muscular. This is also referred to as the hollywood look or the shrink wrap look. Popular Hollywood celebrities like Cam Gigandet or Brad Pitt sport this look.

So is it good to have a LMB?

Most definitely. If we just go by the physiological definition it is great for the overall balance of the body. A lower body fat percentage in the range of 10-15% is recommended for men and a range of 15-20 for women.This is the ideal fat volume to maintain good overall cardio-vascular health.

Visually, you will possess an extremely attractive and fit physique, which will be envy of others. You will also improve your strength and endurance if you try to achieve this physique and maintain it. This is a great plus and has many benefits apart from just the health benefits.

Many of us often think that this body type can belong to an elite few who have lots of money and time at their disposal to actually build a good physique (like actors and athletes). While it is true that more focus can be placed on getting a good physique if your living depends on it (eg. you are an actor, and you need to have a good physique to be in business), it is not necessarily true that common people like us cannot develop this physique. With some amount of motivation, dedication and the right information about lean muscular physique, you too can be well on your way to building an enviable body.

Complete Pec Training Tips

Put these pec techniques to use and develop that full, muscular chest today.

For most people I see in the gym, the bench press has become more about building an ego than building a quality set of pecs. Rather than worry about how much you can lift, you need to focus your attention on how fully you can train and fatigue the pecs themselves (rather than the arms, shoulders, back, quads, etc.)

Here's an oldie but a goodie to help get you to isolate your pecs on the flat bench press. It's a simple technique that can really make a difference in how fully and intensely you're able to hit the pecs:

Sit upright with perfect posture on the end of a flat bench. Roll your shoulders back and down slightly--almost as if you're pushing your shoulder blades towards each other. Hold this position as you lay back on the flat bench.

With a shoulder's width grip and your elbows in, maintain this position throughout the bench press. It may feel awkward at first and you won't be able to lift as much weight as you're used to, but you'll hit your pecs hard and you'll feel the pump.

Add some variation to your chest training and blast your upper chest (the key to that ripped look) with this killer Giant Set:

warm-up your pecs thoroughly first.
Dumbbell Flyes on the Incline Bench. Set the bench at a slight angle of around 30 degrees or so. Be sure to get a full stretch on each rep, and push yourself to failure. I like to use moderately heavy weights here (60 lbs. or so).

Dumbbell Incline Presses. Go right into these without any rest at all using the same dumbbells you have in your hands from the Flyes. Go deep on each rep, throwing your chest out and upward at the stretch point. Then squeeze hard at the point of full contraction. Go to failure.

Barbell Incline Press. Now jump right into Barbell Incline Presses with a moderate weight. Your pecs will be substantially fatigued at this point, so you'll want to have a spotter to help you push out some solid reps. Again go to failure.

Dumbbell Flyes on the Incline Bench. Drop your original dumbbell weight in half (30 lbs. in my example). Maintain great form and go to failure.
Dumbbell Incline Presses. Finally, go right into Dumbbell Presses again with the same weight you already have in your hands. No rest. Pump out as many as you can. This final leg of the Giant Set really separates the men from the boys, or the women from the girls as the case may be.

Take a 90 second rest and repeat entire Giant Set once or twice more if you dare.

To bring out the full striations in the pectorals, you need the type of continuous tension you get from doing cable work. Here are a couple of my favorite cable movements for the chest.

Cable Crossovers. These are standard exercise for almost every advanced trainer, and yet you watch ten different people perform the exercise and you're likely to see ten different variations. Almost all variations of this movement have some redeeming value.

Personally, I like to do Crossovers standing almost straight-up. Pull your arms down and hands together at a point about 6 inches in front of your lower abs. Perform the negative slowly, allowing your arms to rise above your head before exploding downward again.

In addition to this technique, I also like to do Crossovers bent at the waist (about a 45 degree angle) leaning forward. When the arms go up, the shoulder blades pinch together. When the arms come down, you should flex as if striking a "most muscular" pose.

Cable Flyes on the Flat Bench. A personal favorite. I really enjoy the continuous tension Cable Flyes provide and the explosive pump you get in your pecs when the exercise is performed properly.

Place the handles on the low-pulley on the cable machine, and position a flat bench in the middle. Use moderate weight, keeping your elbows only slightly bent throughout the entire movement. As with all cable work, emphasize the movement by flexing hard at peak contraction.

Cable Flyes on the Incline Bench. Another favorite of mine. For best results you want to use an incline bench with about a 30 degree angle. This will really hit the mid and upper pecs. A great movement for carving that chiseled, plate of armor look into your chest.

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Pipes, Guns, Bazookas - Killer Biceps

Pipes. Guns. Bazookas.

Take your pick. Grab your weapon of choice.

This common weight room jargon refers to the muscle that separates your elbows from your shoulders, those bulging beauties known as your biceps.

Although biceps are considered a small muscle group, smaller than say the chest, legs, or back, their importance within a hard-core bodybuilder's physique is undeniable. The double-bi pose is among a bodybuilder's favorite.

Of course, before you go carving them into oblivion, it is most imperative to amass the mass on your arms. You cannot shape what you don't have.

Here are a couple of biceps-blasting exercises designed to load up those guns for the big showdown:

ALTERNATING DUMBBELL CURLS: You can do these either standing upright or sitting on a bench. Take a pair of dumbbells of considerable weight and hold them at your sides so that your palms are facing your legs and your thumbs are facing outward. Slowly curl one arm toward your torso, turning your arm in so that your palm is facing upward. Squeeze your biceps during the contraction. As you slowly lower the weight toward the floor, your other arm should begin curling the weight toward your torso, repeating the motion. Do 3 sets of 10 reps on each arm.

STRAIGHT-BAR CURLS: Take a straight barbell and load it up with considerable weight, holding it in your hands with your palms facing upward. Have your hands at shoulder width as you lock your elbows into your sides. Slowly curl the bar toward your torso, squeezing the biceps during the range of motion. Hold at the contraction for a beat, then slowly lower the weight toward the starting position, as you concentrate solely on the negative movement. Visualize your biceps tearing up with each repetition. Repeat the process, cranking out 3 sets of 10 reps.

Of course, your gains will be minimal without the use of effective form. Do not swing your back or move your elbows during the range of motion.

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Sneak a Little Intensity Into Your Workout

You know you're on autopilot during your workouts when, halfway through you're set on the pec dec, you realize you're sitting on someone's lap. It's time to shake things up a bit. Every gym has a variety of people who come in and do the same routine time after time. The same movements, weight, reps, they even do the exercises in the same order, every workout. Three years later, their body still looks the same. If you don't know the guy I'm talking about, you're that guy.

My suggestion is to put some intensity into your workout. The human body adapts very quickly to whatever we throw at it. If you're not giving your body a reason to make changes, it won't. If your wife just kept asking you to clean the garage, it would probably never happen. But, when she introduces new tactics, like threatening to tell all your friends how you set your Tivo to tape "The Facts of Life" reruns every week, then viola. Clean garage. Your body is the same way. As opposed to the same old nagging, it responds better to variety. If you're doing the same workout, with the same weight, over and over, you're literally boring your body into staying out of shape.

As a trainer I often have clients tell me that they only get a good workout during our sessions together. That, unless someone is pushing them, they don't feel like they're working hard. To solve this problem I've put together a list of techniques that will help you sneak some intensity into your workouts without having anyone yell at you. If you can follow these methods as I've described below, you will experience an unfamiliar sensation during your next workout. Don't be alarmed...you're just sweating.

Triple Grips

How: Take, for example, the incline chest press on the Smith machine. Place your hands on the bar as wide apart from each other as you can. Now, engage the Smith machine and do 10 reps with about 60% of your max weight. Rest for ten seconds. Now, bring your grip closer together by about 3 inches and do 10 more reps. Rest for another 10 seconds. Now, bring your grip closer together until they're about 4 inches apart and do 10 more reps. That's one set.

Why: With a standard grip incline press, you only work certain muscle fibers in your chest. In this example, by changing your grip, you work the fibers across your whole upper chest. Use this technique with other exercises by simply changing your grip or the width of your stance.

Pre-Exhaust

How: In this example we'll use the wide grip pull down. With 40-50% of your max weight, do 30 reps a little faster than you would normally go. (Not a typo - 30) Immediately after, bump the weight up to about 80-90% of max and shoot for 10 reps.

Why: You're just trying to fatigue the muscle. It's like doing your 3rd or 4th set, every set. The shock value alone is phenomenal. If your body could talk, it would say "What the $#$% Are you doing"?

Drop Sets

How: After a warm up set of your favorite exercise, do 10-12 reps with about 90% of your max weight. Right away, drop the weight by about 20% and do 10-12 more reps. Again, drop the weight by 20% and do another set without resting. That counts as one set.

Why: By dropping the weight each set, you're allowing the muscle to continue working even though it's too tired to lift the weight you were previously lifting. You should get a great burn by the third set.

Compound Sets & Super Sets

How: A compound set is two different exercises for the same muscle group that are completed without resting in between. (For example: Preacher curls and hammer curls.) A superset is two different exercises for opposing muscle groups that are completed without resting in between. (For example: Chest press and bent over rows.) Simply perform one exercise, followed by the second exercise, without resting in between.

Why: Compound sets will allow you to further fatigue a muscle group while often working different heads of the muscle. Supersets will allow one muscle group to rest while working the opposing muscle group. Both methods add intensity and are great for squeezing in more sets when you don't have time for your full workout.

Target Range of Motion

How: For example, when performing the standing biceps curl, during the upward movement phase, only bring the bar halfway through the range of motion (Until your forearms are parallel to the floor). Perform three of these partial reps followed by one rep that covers the full range of motion. (Bringing the bar all the way up to your shoulders). Count the three partial reps and one full rep as one total rep and shoot for 10.

Why: Just try it. You'll definitely feel this one.

Static Sets

How: I'll use standing dumbbell biceps curls for this example because it's easy to visualize. With your left arm, bring the dumbbell halfway through the range of motion (until your forearm is parallel to the floor), and hold it there while you complete 12 (full range of motion) reps with your right arm. Now, switch and hold the right arm static while completing 12 full reps with the left. Next set, switch the arm you begin with.

Why: The arm that is static still has to work to keep the weight where it is. This is effective as a type of pre-exhaust. The other arm has to work to hold the weight in the static position after completing 12 reps, like a post-exhaust.

Of course, if you choose one of these methods and use it for every exercise, in every workout, then you're wildly missing the point. Use one or two in each workout and continue making changes to keep your body from hitting any plateaus. And for crying out loud, clean the garage.

Keep in mind; this article is about increasing the intensity in your resistance workout. For information about intensity in your cardio workouts, read "Using Nutrition to Boost Your Cardio" here: [http://www.shapeyou.com/nutrition_cardio.html]

You may reprint or publish this article freely as long as you include the author bio and all hyperlinks are active and clickable.

Tony Hale is a certified personal trainer and nutritional expert serving the entertainment industry in the Los Angeles area. He is also the creator of the ShapeYou Health & Fitness GearAwards that recognizes products as being the best in their field in the world of natural, organic, health and fitness products. You can see previous winners here:http://www.shapeyou.com/award_categories To help quality natural health manufacturers increase the distribution of their products, Tony also created the Natural and Organic Health & Fitness Wholesale Trade Directory that features products from the world of health and allows wholesale buyers to communicate directly with the suppliers here: shapeyou.com/categories

You are free to use this article in any web based fashion as long as the above author description is included and all links within that description and the article are activated.

Building Better Biceps

Two of the nine pivot points - those stunning body parts located precisely where they attract the most attention - are the lower biceps and long head of the triceps. When fully developed, these muscles lend a mystical beauty to the physique that size alone can't.

BARBELLS FOR BICEPS

To work the lower biceps, use a preacher bench that has a rounded face and well-padded corners. Place a towel over the bench so the vinyl doesn't rub the skin off your elbows.

First, do a set of dumbbell curls with a weight heavy enough that you can do only 6 reps. Go all the way down, uncurl the wrist and then curl it again. you can cheat on this exercise, but be sure to uncurl and curl your wrists at the bottom of the movement. After completing 6 reps and 4 partial reps, go immediately to the wide-grip barbell curl. Form is critical, so follow these tips:

Select a barbell that's about 45% of your one-rep max for standing barbell curls.

Grasp the bar with your palms up and thumbs wrapped around the bar.

Use a grip that's about 4 inches wider than shoulder width.

Let yourself sink all the way down on the bench so your armpits are right down on it. Make every effort to get as deep as possible on the bench.

Your goal is to do this exercise super-strict - absolutely no cheat at all. Point your feet forward so you can't cheat with them either.

Let the bar move all the way to the bottom and uncurl your wrists. (you don't have to uncurl your fingers, just your wrists).

With no cheat at all, slowly curl the wrists up, then curl the arms. This is the critical part of the exercise. Don't pull back with your body or head. Stay fixed on the bench while the biceps and forearms do every bit of the work.

Curl your arms all the way up and rest just long enough to take a breath.

Repeat the exercise for eight reps.

This exercise is truly a killer, but man, it does build mass!

Bodybuilding is a thinking person's sport. So regardless of whether you're a beginner, intermediate or advanced bodybuilder, the more you think about how you can make each

Get A Grip! Get More Out Of Your Biceps Curls

Would you like to know how to get more out of every single dumbell curl you do? Amazingly enough, you can do this simply by changing where you grip the dumbell.

First, I'm going to tell you what the trick is, then I'm going to tell you exactly how and why it works. Then I'm going to finish by telling you how to make the trick so powerful it'll blow your mind!

In a nutshell, instead of gripping the handle in the middle (as is normally taught), grip the handle with the thumb and forefinger side of your hand pressed up against the inside of the dumbell plates. There will be a space of several inches between your pinky and the other side plates.

To take full advantage of this change in your grip, start the curl with your palms facing in to your thighs, otherwise known as a neutral or hammer grip. As you curl up, rotate your forearm so that your palm is facing up at the top of the movement. You should feel a strong cramping in your biceps.

For pictures demonstrating exactly how to execute this technique go to: http://hotbodybuilder.tk/

Here's how and why it works:

The biceps muscle has two main functions. The first is flexing the elbow (in essence, bringing the forearm closer to the upper arm like when you bend your arm to scratch your nose). The other function is called supination, which is a biomechanical term for forearm rotation. Supination occurs when you turn your hand from a palms-down position to a palms-up position.

The traditional dumbell curl without forearm rotation addresses the flexing function of the bicep. Rotating your forearm as you curl the dumbell up invokes the supination function of the bicep, working more of the muscle mass of the bicep and giving you a stronger contraction.

Holding the dumbell off-center essentially adds resistance to the supination function of the bicep muscle. If you think about it, when you hold your hand in the middle of the dumbell, the two ends are balanced like two identical-weight people on a see-saw. You get very little, if any, resistance on the supination.

By holding the dumbell off-center, you tip the balance of the dumbell towards the pinky side of your hand. Your bicep must then work against resistance to accomplish the supination, adding in more resistance to the curl movement.

This resistance translates into more efficient work for the bicep and, ultimately, more results for you!

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Now I'm going to tell you how to adapt this trick into something that will make your jaw hit the floor on the first rep you do.

You've learned about supination and adding resistance to the supination movement by holding the dumbell off-center. You've felt the difference this makes in your biceps.

Now imagine how much more effective this trick will be if you add actual weight for resistance instead of just shifting your hand over!

In order to accomplish this, you're going to need one of two things: do-it-yourself dumbells with which you can add or remove weight or Plate Mates (TM), which are small magnetic weight plates that stick to the metal of the dumbell.

The execution is simple: make a dumbell with more weight on one end than the other. That's it. For example, place 20 pounds of weight on one end and 25 pounds of weight on the other.

Grip the dumbell in the middle when you use it, making sure that the heavier end is on the pinky side of your hand. If you are using Plate Mates (TM), stick a few of them onto only one side of the dumbell to accomplish the same imbalance.

Now when you curl up and supinate, your bicep is going to have that added resistance on the supination movement. The cramping sensation you get on the very first rep as you come to the top and squeeze the muscle hard will show you just how powerful this technique is. The pump you get in your biceps after your set will seal the deal!

You will also notice that your forearm and grip are getting a lot of work with this trick. This is just icing on the cake and will not decrease the tension on your bicep in any way.

Note: If you are using dumbells that weigh less than 30 pounds total, I would recommend you use a 2 1/2 pound plate on one side rather than a 5 pound plate. Any more than 30 and you should use a 5 pound plate.

Chest Dips

Chest dips are an exercise that many fail to perform in their workout routine, but they are one of the best exercises for adding muscle definition and density to the chest muscles.

Chest dips work a large number of muscles in the chest, arms, and even shoulders. Chest dips are similar to tricep dips, but the chest does more of the work.

Now it's time for you to start doing some Chest dips!!!

Chest Dips Instructions

1) Take hold of the bars on the dip machine or parallel bars and push yourself upwards to the start position. You should cross your feet behind you, with your knees bent and arms fully extended.

2) With total control, lower your body until your triceps are parallel with the floor. Allow you elbows to go out wider. Your body should be tilted around 45 degrees at this point, and you should feel a stretch in the chest that extends across the shoulders, when you go right to the bottom.

3) While continuing to lean forward, push yourself back up to the start position. You should stop short of locking out at the top.

4) The last 3 inches or so of the used by your triceps. Don't work in this range. Stop short and start dropping down. Including these last few inches, would cause fatigue in your triceps, causing you to end this exercise based upon the failure of the triceps, not the chest.

Muscles Worked While Doing Chest Dips

Primary: Pectoralis Major, Pectoralis Minor.

Secondary: Anterior Deltoids, Triceps Brachii, Rhomboids, Levator Scapulae, Latissimus Dorsi, Teres Major.

Some Advice

• Your lower back and abs should be tensed throughout the whole exercise, this will keep you keep your upper body in the correct position.
• If you start busting out chest dips real easy like, you should strap on some weight to add extra resistance. Simply add weight plates to a dip belt.

Chest Dips Mistakes I Commonly See

• Working through shoulder pain. The furthest you should go is just beyond parallel to the ground, don't go any further.
• Roll your shoulders. Having your shoulders move forward can easily take the focus off your chest muscles. Keep your lower back and abs tight and your chest up.
• Failure to lock out the elbows. Locking out your elbows at the top of your chest compels you to squeeze the triceps. Putting you in a good position achieving full ROM of the exercise.

Now get off the computer and go hit the gym. Be sure to incorporate chest dips into your next chest workout.

- David McCready

David McCready is the founder of Game Strength Insider found at http://hotbodybuilder.tk/ He specializes in helping athletes and average Joes alike, gain long term lean muscle mass, strength and cardiovascular conditioning without gimmicks, supplements or fad dieting. © 2012 Game Strength Insider. All rights in all media reserved.

Muscle and Fitness - The Third and Final Key to Successfully Achieving Your Fitness Goals

Before delving into Muscle And Fitness - The Second Key, the final and most important key to success in your muscle and fitness routine, I'd like to remind you about what the previous article discussed.

In a previous article, you were given a number of steps to follow. In summary, Muscle And Fitness - The Second Key is the 'DO' key. This is where you structure your actions to take you to your goals. You must decide which action (Exercise) is the most effective tool to help you achieve that particular goal.

Which brings me to the third and final key:

The 'BE' Key

This is what you must BECOME in order to ensure that you take the necessary action to DO whatever it takes to get what you want to HAVE.

You should already know what your goals are - The 'Have' key.

You should already know what you have to DO to achieve those goals - The 'Do' key.

In order to make sure that you carry out the DO key (your chosen exercises), you must BE the type of person that consistently and persistently follows the routine. You must do this without fail, so that you can have the ideal muscle mass, weight loss, fitness goal or whatever your goal is.

How do you become someone that you are not?

By not giving in!

Lets say that you have a chosen goal. Lets assume that goal is to lose 28lbs by the end of three months. What do you have to be in order to make sure that you achieve that goal of 28lbs of weight loss?

You have your goal. You have your exercise routine sorted out that is the most effective way, for you, of achieving that goal. Now it's time to guarantee that you don't stop after a week or so.

Your goals should be on your index card, as described in a the First Key.

As you are about to perform your training routine, go through this little scenario...

1. Read your goals aloud.

2. As you do, visualize that goal having already been achieved.

3. Feel that goal, as if you have already achieved it.

4. Then ask yourself:

* How good do I look? - I look GOOD!

* How great do I feel? - I feel GREAT!

Now say to yourself...

I feel Great - I look Great - I am successful!

I feel Great - I look Great - I am successful!

I feel Great - I look Great - I am successful!

Ok... Lets Do It.

Do this daily...

* In the morning, upon rising.

* Just before you begin your workout.

* Just before going to sleep.

When you repeat this each time, feel it with conviction and say it with conviction. Feel your blood boil with excitement. Feel your heart beat hard. Get right into it. Stir up that passion and throw yourself right slam into the middle of it.

Don't give in. Persist and be consistent with your efforts... no matter whether you feel like it or not.

I have often found that the thoughts of having to do something are horrible at times. But, once I throw myself into it I feel absolutely fantastic and so happy that I didn't give in.

Have you ever found that?

If you have, remember that feeling. Feel it every time you are about to begin your training. Stir it up. Love that feeling and then get stuck in. Become what you need to become so that you can DO whatever it takes to achieve the goals that you said you want to HAVE.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/40932