Yoga Arm Balance For Stronger Core

If you are still boasting of your prowess with dumbbells, then we are sorry to say, but you do seem like an old-age person to us, who is living on the glory days of yesteryear and its outdated fitness regime.

For, now there’s a more refined way to command cred: The Yoga Arm Balance—more specifically, poses like crow, crane, firefly, lifted lotus, and eight-angle pose, which require equal parts strength and balance.

How to…

Sit with legs in diamond shape in front of you, soles of feet together. Lift and cradle right calf in front of chest with both arms, elbows bent, palms facing body, foot flexed. Grab right heel with right hand, left hand under right calf, and lift and hook right leg over right shoulder. Place left palm on floor outside of left leg and press into floor to lift butt slightly, then place right palm on floor in front of you. Lift left leg and cross left ankle over right, feet flexed. Use abs to lift butt and torso slightly forward, straightening legs out to right side.

Three Moves That Will Make You Arm-Balance Ready

Single Knee Plank

Start in downward-facing dog, then lift right leg to ceiling (three-legged dog), keeping hips facing forward. Shift forward to plank pose, bringing right knee into chest, back slightly rounded, palms pressing body away from floor, abs engaged, toes pointed. Hold for 3 breaths, then press back into three-legged dog.

Repeat 5 times.

Dolphin 

Start in downward-facing dog, then lower forearms to floor, elbows directly under shoulders, and walk feet in a few inches toward head, pressing heels toward floor. Hold for 3 breaths, then lower knees to floor to relax.

Repeat 3 times.

Bicycle Crunch

Lie face-up, right leg extended about 3 inches off floor, left knee bent 90 degrees, hands behind head, right elbow touching left knee. Moving slowly and with control, switch sides, rotating torso to right, extending left leg out in front of you and bending right leg 90 degrees, touching left elbow to right knee for 1 rep. Do 10 reps slowly.

Repeat 3 times.

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Benefits of Kickboxing

Just like one of those monotonous office days, even your workout days in the gym can sometimes sting with boredom. Same style of training week after week, can lead to getting ill-motivated to the whole regime, precisely, why you need to make sure that you break the rules in between and add a bit of zing to your gym sessions.

And that's where Kickboxing can play a major role!

By throwing in some kicks and punches you will not only begin to see fresh results but also feel a new and invigorating energy level. The benefits of taking on such a workout are plentiful and definitely worth the sweaty aches that always gives an athlete (fitness-freak), a feel good factor. Be assured that it has all that it takes to transform your workout session and lead to further toning of your body and soothing your mind.

And if you are looking out for more benefits that kickboxing offers, then here are your answers.

Read the full article HERE

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Ryan Reynolds Workout Schedule

I have been in absolute love with the innocent, yet charming personality, of Ryan Reynolds, ever since I saw him in the movie; The Proposal.

An astonishingly handsome guy, with one of the fittest body around, Ryan sure is serving as an inspiration to a lot of people.

Here is a bit of detail on his diet and workout schedule.

Eat More
“I attribute my results mostly to nutrition,” Reynolds says. (See “What He Eats,” below, for a sample menu.) He ate every 2 to 3 hours to burn more fat. “Your body doesn’t need to store fat for energy if you’re feeding it all the time,” explains Bobby Strom, Reynolds’s Los Angeles-based trainer.

Mix It Up
“I gained a lot more muscle mass when I went on creatine,” says Reynolds. He also took L-glutamine, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), whey, and a multivitamin.

Go for Bulk
Reynolds doesn’t have a personal chef, so he cooks meals in advance. For instance, he’ll make a large supply of Irish steel-cut oatmeal and freeze it. That way, the most important meal of the day requires the least work.

Carve with Carbs
“Never do any of that carve-starve crap,” Reynolds says. Instead, watch the clock. He ate most of his carbohydrates postworkout, and none after 8 p.m.

Think about Yourself
“If you hate your workout, you’re not going to do it,” explains Reynolds. Customize your fitness plan to meet your needs. He found it “meditative” to do ab exercises first instead of last.

WHAT HE EATS

Breakfast
2 eggs, some “good” fat like a spoon of almond butter or slice of avocado, and 1 cup of oatmeal with applesauce

Midmorning Snack
Protein bar

Lunch
Albacore tuna wrap or chicken and salad

Mid-afternoon Snack
Protein shake (whey and water), protein bar, or apple and almonds

Dinner
Broiled fish or chicken, brown rice, vegetables, and salad

Evening
Snack protein shake 

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Jim Stoppani - The Body Weight Training God!

There are people who like working out and there are people who ‘just love working out.' There are also people who do not like touching the weights much in the gym and only use their body as a tool to help them workout and get better, get fitter! And here we are with a name that stands out in the field of body building/athleticism and physical science all across the world.

And that name is Jim Stoppani!

Who is he?

Jim Stoppani received his doctorate in exercise physiology with a minor in biochemistry from the University of Connecticut. Following graduation, he served as a postdoctoral researcher in the prestigious John B. Pierce Laboratory and Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology at Yale University School of Medicine, where he investigated the effects of exercise and diet on gene regulation in muscle tissue with great success.

He was awarded the Gatorade Beginning Investigator in Exercise Science Award in 2002 by the American Physiological Society for his groundbreaking research and is one of the most respected name in the domain.

Jim Stoppani the author

He has written thousands of articles on exercise, nutrition and health and is author of:

- Encyclopedia of Muscle & Strength (Human Kinetics, 2006)

- Co-author of the New York Times Bestseller, LL Cool J’s Platinum 360 Diet and Lifestyle (Rodale, 2010)

- Co-author of the book Stronger Arms & Upper Body (Human Kinetics, 2008)

- Co-author of the chapter “Nutritional Needs of Strength/Power Athletes” in the textbook Essentials of Sports Nutrition and Supplements (Humana Press, 2008).

One of his achievements is that he is the creator of the Platinum 360 Diet as found in the book, LL Cool J’s Platinum 360 Diet and Lifestyle (Rodale, 2010) and creator of the diet program found in the book, Mario Lopez’s Knockout Fitness (Rodale, 2008), which are followed by a huge audience that likes to live a healthy and sound life.

Where he stands different
It seems that with Stoppani we have a man who properly studied what he is writing about and in his articles makes sure to point at the science that backs his words. The claim at the top his website, “using real science to design real programs for unreal results,” should find a lot of you in rejoice.

Dr. Stoppani has been the personal nutrition and health consultant for numerous celebrity clients, such as LL Cool J, Dr. Dre, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Mario Lopez, and has appeared on the NBC television show Extra as an extra life changer.

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What Does Alcohol Do To Your Gym Training

Most of the people, are aware of the imprecations when it comes to consuming alcohol and the potential effect it can have on their lifestyle. And hearing from your training partner that he/she can not come to the gym on a given day, because they partied too hard the night before, should not come as a shocker of a news.

This may just be a one-off example, but we are here to talk about what are the real effects of alcohol on your training over a lengthier period of time.

Concentration Levels: Scientific researches over the years have proved that alcohol severely reduces your mind’s ability to accept and process information and can occur almost instantaneously. It has also been seen to alter both hormonal functioning and glycogen metabolism and with reduced glycogen metabolism your body will always be short on receiving energy supplies.

Not only this, but alcohol consumption can also lead to errors of judgment and diminished levels of focus and motivation that easily be termed as detrimental to one’s normal life.

Dehydration: This probably is the most common after-effect of alcohol consumption and can play a major role in your gym regime going for a toss. It is a known-fact that your body’s water supply is heavily utilised during alcohol consumption in an attempt to metabolise the alcoholic toxins. And this results in water being diverted away from other bodily functions that are essential to keep you hydrated. Even small percentage adjustments away from your body’s optimum hydration levels can create large discrepancies in your performance levels, thus, bad or no gym sessions.

Energy Levels: Alcohol has a limiting effect on the metabolism of various substances within the body. And one of these substances, probably the most relevant to your workout too, is carbohydrate. If the process of carbohydrate metabolism is compromised, then ultimately, the fuel to power the body i.e. glycogen is reduced below the desired level. This can result in premature fatigue and diminished endurance and strength.

Recovery Rates: Intake of alcohol reduces your body’s ability to absorb protein, resulting in a less readily available supply for your muscles if you intend to gain a certain level of fitness. This reduction means, that both, recovery and growth rates are diminished.

This could ultimately affect your ability to continually train on consecutive days and can later become a more frequent habit. Alcohol consumption has also been negatively correlated with the production and release of your body’s own growth hormone.

Supplying Oxygen: One of the many side effects that alcohol consumption has is the heart’s ability to carry out its responsibilities to the fullest. This may not be noticed in a sedentary individual but for those undertaking training it can impact massively on cardiovascular fitness levels and the ability of the heart to supply oxygen to the working muscles.

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How To Do German Volume Training!

Brutally hard, but an effective way to pack on muscles and if you guessed it to be German Volume Training, then you definitely know the methods of bodybuilding.

Also known as ’10 sets method’, GVT was popularised in the mid 70′s by the then German Coach; Rolf Feser. It helps weightlifters in gaining lean body mass and shed unnecessary body fat. Targeting specific muscle groups and motor units to build massive muscles, this is a very intense workout with repetitions that pushes the body to adapt to the extraordinary, and of course, painful stress through accelerated muscle fiber hypertrophy.

The theory of GVT is to complete 10 sets of 10 repetitions  with the same weight for each exercise. When you select a weight level that is about 60-70 per cent of the maximum weight that you lift in your regular schedule, but do 10 sets of it with 10 reps, then you surely are following, the German way of exercising.

Core principles of GVT

Single exercise – As you will be performing a limited number of workouts every week, it is advisable to select workouts that recruit a lot of muscle mass and concentrate on that. Stick to heavier, compound-style lifts that can push the major muscle groups hard. Triceps and leg extensions can take a back-seat with bench-press and squats given more emphasis.

Tempo – For workouts like squats, dips and chins, use a 4-0-2 tempo; this means that you lower the weight in four seconds, immediately change direction and lift for two seconds. For movements such as curls and triceps extensions, opt for 3-0-2 tempo.

Rest intervals – Some might question the value of GVT in the initial sets, when you don’t feel the weight to be that heavy. However, with minimal rest period of about 45-60 seconds, the fatigue part will definitely come in, thus, resulting in the need of extra efforts and pushing it hard. The interesting part is, that you might feel stronger again by the 8th and the 9th set because of short neural adaptation and get back in the groove of it. Key is to keep an eye on the watch when you take rest, as you want to keep the process constant and not lengthen it any time during your workout.

Frequency of training – The first two words from the first line of this post i.e brutally hard, shall give you enough of indications for this. Because of the intensity of German Volume Training, the muscles take longer than usual to recover and need proper rest to recuperate. Therefore, one training session per body, every four to five days is plenty.

Stepping it up – Once your body gets used to the schedule of 10 sets with 10 reps and you find it easy to do, increase the weight on the bars by 5-7 per cent and repeat the process for improvement in results.

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Advantages Of Body Weight Training

Fitness trainers and athletes all around the world are now concentrating on body-weight workouts and rightfully so, because it is statistically beneficial.

The biggest advantage is that you train at your own weight since you know your body better, how much your body can take and this is extremely important, initially. When you’re training at your own weight, you realize your capabilities and weaknesses. Also, it becomes easier to track your progress.

Read Full Story HERE 

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