Throughout month one of insanity I was pushing myself hard and the workouts were tough. Anyone out there that has done the insanity programme by beachbody will know what I am talking about.
Bring on month 2 is what I was thinking at the beginning of the year.
Month 2 day one kicks off with a fitness test - nothing new there. And I am happy to say I smashed it, except for the last exercise but I had a wardrobe malfunction with that one (my shorts were too tight for me to get my legs to where I needed them! Hahaha!)
Then Beachbody decided to follow this up with an hour long max integral session. Ouch, it was hard work, I had to dig deep and I needed a lot of water to get me through it. The programme created by Shaun T is hard, seriously hard but it is so satisfying when you complete them.
I still recommend this programme thoroughly. As soon as I complete it I will post my before and after photos, the jury can then decide if all this hard work was worth it.
Happy New Year everyone and good luck with the training!
Showing posts with label Workout programmes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Workout programmes. Show all posts
Sunday, 6 January 2013
Friday, 28 December 2012
Insanity
Everyone has seen the commercials, the before and after pictures and the many testimonials of people who have taken on the insanity challenge to come out the other side with a physique to be proud of.
After a lot of deliberation and a little cynicism, I decided to purchase the beachbody product 'insanity' by Shaun T.
From a customer experience perspective, the company is run well. The product arrived quickly and was as described.
From a fitness perspective; it is hard work, but it is supposed to be. I am about 25 days in so far and can see some results. Whilst the scales only show that I have shifted 5lbs, I can feel the biggest difference in my fitness levels. Most notably, I went for a run the other day and it was the most enjoyable run I have ever been on. It was a great feeling to be able to push myself but still have so much energy to compete the distance.
So far I would have to say I am happy with insanity. The diet plan is easy to follow and the food that comes out of it is really tasty.
I will continue to write articles on insanity and will be more than happy to recommend it of I get the results I am expecting. It is a little early to tell at the moment but it is Christmas and my diet hasn't been as strict as it should be!
After a lot of deliberation and a little cynicism, I decided to purchase the beachbody product 'insanity' by Shaun T.
From a customer experience perspective, the company is run well. The product arrived quickly and was as described.
From a fitness perspective; it is hard work, but it is supposed to be. I am about 25 days in so far and can see some results. Whilst the scales only show that I have shifted 5lbs, I can feel the biggest difference in my fitness levels. Most notably, I went for a run the other day and it was the most enjoyable run I have ever been on. It was a great feeling to be able to push myself but still have so much energy to compete the distance.
So far I would have to say I am happy with insanity. The diet plan is easy to follow and the food that comes out of it is really tasty.
I will continue to write articles on insanity and will be more than happy to recommend it of I get the results I am expecting. It is a little early to tell at the moment but it is Christmas and my diet hasn't been as strict as it should be!
Bouncing is for bunnies
Put your hand up if you like to lift weights, now pat yourself on the back!
Put your hand up if you like lifting heavy weights, now give yourself a round of applause!
Put your hand up if you bounce the barbell off your chest when you chest press, hang your head in shame!
Bouncing the bar is poor form, poor form will prevent your muscles getting the best workout, will cause injury and will stop you from getting big gains!
During bicep curls, the same practice can be seen but instead of bouncing, it is swinging. Have you ever seen someone swing the barbell or dumbell in order to complete the rep?
As a general rule, if your heel lifts off the ground, you are attempting too much weight.
If you focus on the right form, the right technique and lift the right amount of weight, you will see solid gains and avoid injury. Search on YouTube for proper lifting techniques, trust me it is worth it. Utilise the preacher bench, again you will be thanking me.
Good luck and lift heavy (safely)!
Put your hand up if you like lifting heavy weights, now give yourself a round of applause!
Put your hand up if you bounce the barbell off your chest when you chest press, hang your head in shame!
Bouncing the bar is poor form, poor form will prevent your muscles getting the best workout, will cause injury and will stop you from getting big gains!
During bicep curls, the same practice can be seen but instead of bouncing, it is swinging. Have you ever seen someone swing the barbell or dumbell in order to complete the rep?
As a general rule, if your heel lifts off the ground, you are attempting too much weight.
If you focus on the right form, the right technique and lift the right amount of weight, you will see solid gains and avoid injury. Search on YouTube for proper lifting techniques, trust me it is worth it. Utilise the preacher bench, again you will be thanking me.
Good luck and lift heavy (safely)!
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
All you need is a barbell and some space
So I recently starting doing a circuit comprised of 4 different exercises and it has been a revelation.
It doesn't take long, gets the heart beating and is as difficult as you want to make it.
All you need is a barbell that you could lift off the ground and complete a shoulder press. That's it!
Ok, get ready
Start by completing a squat jump
Next, move into a burpee
Do a press up
Then back on your feet to complete 2 shoulder press reps with the barbell
Sounds easy? It is! But do it 20-25 times without resting.
Finish off with a weights session for 20 minutes and HIIT cardio for 15 minutes.
It doesn't take long, gets the heart beating and is as difficult as you want to make it.
All you need is a barbell that you could lift off the ground and complete a shoulder press. That's it!
Ok, get ready
Start by completing a squat jump
Next, move into a burpee
Do a press up
Then back on your feet to complete 2 shoulder press reps with the barbell
Sounds easy? It is! But do it 20-25 times without resting.
Finish off with a weights session for 20 minutes and HIIT cardio for 15 minutes.
All you need is a barbell and some space
So I recently starting doing a circuit comprised of 4 different exercises and it has been a revelation.
It doesn't take long, gets the heart beating and is as difficult as you want to make it.
All you need is a barbell that you could lift off the ground and complete a shoulder press. That's it!
Ok, get ready
Start by completing a squat jump
Next, move into a burpee
Do a press up
Then back on your feet to complete 2 shoulder press reps with the barbell
Sounds easy? It is! But do it 20-25 times without resting.
Finish off with a weights session for 20 minutes and HIIT cardio for 15 minutes.
It doesn't take long, gets the heart beating and is as difficult as you want to make it.
All you need is a barbell that you could lift off the ground and complete a shoulder press. That's it!
Ok, get ready
Start by completing a squat jump
Next, move into a burpee
Do a press up
Then back on your feet to complete 2 shoulder press reps with the barbell
Sounds easy? It is! But do it 20-25 times without resting.
Finish off with a weights session for 20 minutes and HIIT cardio for 15 minutes.
Monday, 20 August 2012
Building lean muscle
If you want to burn Extra calories without doing extra work, put on some lean muscle.
Each pound of pure muscle you add to your body will burn an extra 50 calories per day. If you add 10lbs of pure muscle, you will burn an extra 500 calories per day which means an extra 3500 calories per week.
Every pound of fat you have in your body consists of 3500 calories! So every week you would be comfortably losing that unsightly flab you are working hard to get rid of.
To put on lean muscle you need to make sure you use proper form. Make sure your target muscles are the muscles contracting during your exercises. Too many times I see people swinging their body in order to life the dumbbells they are using for bicep curls. Instead, choose a suitable weight and follow these simple rules.
1. When lifting the weight ensure your biceps are contracting only
2. Be explosive when lifting the weight
3. When lowering the weight ensure the movement is controlled at a slow pace. Try to take three seconds to lower the weight
4. Pause before you lift the weight for your second rep (you don't want momentum to help you as this prevents you from building lean muscle)
5. Do 4 sets of decreasing reps (20, 16, 12, 10). Increase the weights if you can
This exercise will burn your arms but will give you great results.
Did you also know you should focus on building muscle on your legs? Get squatting and lunging if you want to put on that lean muscle you are looking for. Your legs are the biggest muscles in your body, working them hard will help you get the burn you want.
Lastly, make sure you feed your muscles after a workout. To ensure you help your muscles recover you need a source of protein within 30 minutes of finishing your workout.
Each pound of pure muscle you add to your body will burn an extra 50 calories per day. If you add 10lbs of pure muscle, you will burn an extra 500 calories per day which means an extra 3500 calories per week.
Every pound of fat you have in your body consists of 3500 calories! So every week you would be comfortably losing that unsightly flab you are working hard to get rid of.
To put on lean muscle you need to make sure you use proper form. Make sure your target muscles are the muscles contracting during your exercises. Too many times I see people swinging their body in order to life the dumbbells they are using for bicep curls. Instead, choose a suitable weight and follow these simple rules.
1. When lifting the weight ensure your biceps are contracting only
2. Be explosive when lifting the weight
3. When lowering the weight ensure the movement is controlled at a slow pace. Try to take three seconds to lower the weight
4. Pause before you lift the weight for your second rep (you don't want momentum to help you as this prevents you from building lean muscle)
5. Do 4 sets of decreasing reps (20, 16, 12, 10). Increase the weights if you can
This exercise will burn your arms but will give you great results.
Did you also know you should focus on building muscle on your legs? Get squatting and lunging if you want to put on that lean muscle you are looking for. Your legs are the biggest muscles in your body, working them hard will help you get the burn you want.
Lastly, make sure you feed your muscles after a workout. To ensure you help your muscles recover you need a source of protein within 30 minutes of finishing your workout.
Sunday, 1 April 2012
There's a reason hamsters don't have six packs
There are advantages of cardio sessions being part of your fitness programme. But you need to be careful of only using cardio as your main weapon for weight loss.
Every gym has different machines dedicated to cardio. These tend to include; treadmills, elipticals (cross trainers), exercise bikes and rowing machines. Every gym has those people who only use these machines and those people tend to use them for the same amount of time every time they exercise. Read on if your work out sounds like the following;
Cycle for 7.5km
Run for 2.5km
Cross trainer for 3.5km
Not bad, you might be thinking and there was a time when I would have agreed with you but this type of training programme will result in diminishing returns. By this I mean that each workout will result in fewer calories burned.
A friend of mine started going to the gym a few years ago and utilised a 100% cardio regime. She got great results at the beginning (reduced body fat, smaller waist line, improved fitness level) but her results hit a plateau just as quickly. Her boyfriend, another good friend of mine, was quick to tell her that this was due to her eating more, something you do without realising when you undertake a lot of exercise. This is not strictly true.
The problem with a weight loss programme that is heavily focussed on cardio is that your muscles and lungs will become more efficient with each session you will actually burn less calories for the same amount of exercise. The good news is this means your fitness level is improving, the bad news is your weight loss will slow down or even worse STOP!
To avoid this plateau try adding these things to your workout programme;
- High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Jog at 70% for 1 minute followed by sprinting for 1 minute then repeat process
- Hill sprints; use the incline on the treadmill to burn extra calories
- Join a spin class; a variety of intensity and resistance will help you increase the calorie burn
- Get into the weights room
By including one or more of these ideas into your workout you should benefit from better results, it's important to include variety and it will prevent your body from getting used to your workouts.
The final downside of cardio is the build up of cortisol. Your body naturally produces cortisol during long periods of cardio type exercise. Cortisol actually prevents weight loss so another reason to stop treating the gym like your own personal hamster wheel.
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Good form builds lean muscle
I have over heard a few common things in the gym and seen a few other things as well. To the casual observer they are quite humorous, especially as they seem to be stereotypical to men and women.
First, I have over heard a number of ladies say 'I want to lose weight but I don't want to put on any muscle because my legs / arms / shoulders (insert body part here) are big enough'. This basically means that these ladies become scared of the weights room as they think that by lifting weights they will become the female equivalent of the hulk.
Second, this is an observation of men in weights rooms. Time after time I have seen guys lifting the heaviest weights they possibly can, which I imagine is either to impress the women that don't go in to the weights room any way, to show all the guys who the big dog on campus is or because they think this is actually how to gain lean muscle.
In this blog I would like to tackle these two things as I understand them.
For the ladies out there that are scared of doing weights because they think that will automatically lead to looking like a female version of Arnie, don't worry because that isn't going to happen unless you actually trained for it to happen. By avoiding weights it means that all you are doing is committing yourself to a life long prison sentence to boring cardio, you may as well cancel your gym membership and just go running outside.
My fiancee had the same concern when she first started going to the gym but I put her mind at ease when I told her that every 1lb of muscle she put on would help her to burn an extra 50 calories per day. I also explained to her that the biggest muscles in your body are your quadriceps (the top half of your legs) so there is a good place to start if you want to add muscle to your body. So don't shy away from weights as building lean muscle is a very important aspect to losing weight.
Now on to the guys; I understand perfectly why we want to lift the heaviest weight we can but if you want to a) avoid injury and b) properly target your muscles, you need to ensure you are not lifting weights that are too heavy. By lifting weights that are too heavy you will automatically use other muscles to complete your rep. Ask yourself this; have you ever seen anyone doing bicep curls who had to bend their back or swing their hips to complete the rep? I know I have. Now ask yourself this; have you ever done this?
If the answer to the second question is yes, then drop to a lighter weight. All you are doing is using other muscles in your body to lift the weight so your bicep isn't even getting the maximum benefit from the exercise. You are also risking injury to your lower back. So if you want to get the maximum results from the muscle group you are working you must ensure you can complete the desired number of reps with perfect form. If your form cannot remain perfect throughout the rep, do not complete the rep.
If you don't trust me on this, read the advice given by any weight training expert as they will only ever say the same thing. So remember, perfect form means bigger muscles and no injuries.
Good luck and enjoy your weight training.
Work smart not hard
We all want to look good, reach our goals and get the best results from our training, I think that is pretty obvious. I go to the gym regularly, I have to admit that I am addicted and I often can't wait until I can get in there for my next workout. I am thinking about it now as I write this.
Whilst I am in the gym I hang out with two different types of crowds. My first workout is a boxing class, which is great. It is a really good cardio workout with a lot of core work, we also do weights and resistance training. The class lasts 45 minutes and always leaves me in a sweaty mess. There is a great bunch of people that come to the class who all work hard and all want to get good results. I see the second set of people in the evening, these are the people who frequent the weights room. They also work hard and also want good results but the results are a different type. In general the people in the boxing class are there to lose some extra pounds and look lean. In weights everyone is looking to add some lean muscle or bulk up.
The one observation I have had over the 5 months I have been going to this gym is that not everyone actually gets any results, well visible results anyway. This brings me on to the point of this blog entry, it isn't enough to just work hard.
All I know is that I would be pretty disappointed if I went to the gym most days and nights over the course of a 5 month period and didn't see any results. But I see a number of people in my gym who work incredibly hard, put in the necessary time and effort but don't seem to be getting any where.
If you have been in this situation before I feel for you, I really do and my aim is to help you to identify how you can make the necessary changes to your workouts in order to achieve your goals.
First, the science behind it. In order to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you eat, you need to create a calorie deficit. Every pound of fat in your body contains 3500 calories. If you were to create a deficit of 500 calories per day, you would lose 1lb or fat per week / 4lb per month. That is a healthy amount to lose.
Every 1lb of muscle in your body will help you burn an extra 50 calories per day. Therefore, if you increase the amount of muscle in your body and continue to keep your calorie intake under control you will actually increase the speed of your weight loss.
Exercise alone is not good enough to help you reach your goals. You need to be really careful about how you fuel your body and what your diet consists of. I'm not a calorie counter (I don't meticulously count every single calorie I put in to my body) but I have a pretty good idea of the number of calories I eat daily. Start by looking at your diet and look at the nutritional information on the packets of the foods you eat, you will be surprised by the number of additives that are in foods you think are healthy.
A bit more science for you;
If you can create a scenario where (1+2)-3 = 500 then you have created a scenario for healthy weight loss.
Remember that you need to fuel your body for exercise so be sure to still eat a healthy number of calories (a recommended amount for men is 2500 and women is 2000 on a daily basis).
Good luck and enjoy your training.
Whilst I am in the gym I hang out with two different types of crowds. My first workout is a boxing class, which is great. It is a really good cardio workout with a lot of core work, we also do weights and resistance training. The class lasts 45 minutes and always leaves me in a sweaty mess. There is a great bunch of people that come to the class who all work hard and all want to get good results. I see the second set of people in the evening, these are the people who frequent the weights room. They also work hard and also want good results but the results are a different type. In general the people in the boxing class are there to lose some extra pounds and look lean. In weights everyone is looking to add some lean muscle or bulk up.
The one observation I have had over the 5 months I have been going to this gym is that not everyone actually gets any results, well visible results anyway. This brings me on to the point of this blog entry, it isn't enough to just work hard.
All I know is that I would be pretty disappointed if I went to the gym most days and nights over the course of a 5 month period and didn't see any results. But I see a number of people in my gym who work incredibly hard, put in the necessary time and effort but don't seem to be getting any where.
If you have been in this situation before I feel for you, I really do and my aim is to help you to identify how you can make the necessary changes to your workouts in order to achieve your goals.
First, the science behind it. In order to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you eat, you need to create a calorie deficit. Every pound of fat in your body contains 3500 calories. If you were to create a deficit of 500 calories per day, you would lose 1lb or fat per week / 4lb per month. That is a healthy amount to lose.
Every 1lb of muscle in your body will help you burn an extra 50 calories per day. Therefore, if you increase the amount of muscle in your body and continue to keep your calorie intake under control you will actually increase the speed of your weight loss.
Exercise alone is not good enough to help you reach your goals. You need to be really careful about how you fuel your body and what your diet consists of. I'm not a calorie counter (I don't meticulously count every single calorie I put in to my body) but I have a pretty good idea of the number of calories I eat daily. Start by looking at your diet and look at the nutritional information on the packets of the foods you eat, you will be surprised by the number of additives that are in foods you think are healthy.
A bit more science for you;
- Calculate your BMR (Basel Metabolic Rate - the number of calories your body will burn at rest)
- Calculate how many calories you burn during exercise
- Calculate how many calories you eat on a daily basis
If you can create a scenario where (1+2)-3 = 500 then you have created a scenario for healthy weight loss.
Remember that you need to fuel your body for exercise so be sure to still eat a healthy number of calories (a recommended amount for men is 2500 and women is 2000 on a daily basis).
Good luck and enjoy your training.
Saturday, 3 March 2012
5.1% body fat lost since January 1st 2012
Initially I just wanted to lose weight, so all I cared about was what the scales said.
But as I continue getting closer to my goals, I care more about the composition of my body than just the weight of it. So at the beginning of the year I started to track my body fat percentage.
On 1st January 2012 my measurements were;
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 202lbs
But as I continue getting closer to my goals, I care more about the composition of my body than just the weight of it. So at the beginning of the year I started to track my body fat percentage.
On 1st January 2012 my measurements were;
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 202lbs
- Neck - 16.5"
- Chest - 41"
- Bicep - 15"
- Waist - 40"
- Hips - 37"
- Thigh - 24"
Body fat percentage 26.33% (using http://www.linear-software.com/online.html)
On 29th February 2012 (2 months later)
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 195lbs
- Neck - 16"
- Chest - 41"
- Bicep - 15.2"
- Waist - 36.5"
- Hips - 36"
- Thigh - 24"
Body fat percentage 21.23%
I have achieved this through exercise and a healthy diet plan. My exercise regime has consisted of a mixture of cardio and weight training. My diet plan is easy to put into practice and easy to replicate.
I will provide the details of my exercise plans in my workout page. I have already added some content on my diet plans to this page. If you have any questions, email me at loseweight4thelasttime@gmail.com or leave a comment. Also, come back weekly for more comments, tips and training ideas.
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