Category Archives: Gym

The Burpee A 10 Minute Fat Burning Workout

The holidays are here. The parties are starting and all that holiday food is hitting the table. With the new year coming it’s also the time for new years resolutions. what is always one of the top resolutions? Weight loss.

Before I show you how to use the Burpee and get a total body fat burning workout at home in 10 minute workouts with no equipment let me touch on a couple of points first.

The number one excuse for not starting and sticking with a fat burning workout is a lack of time. Now I think this is just a cop out myself. But having said that I also think people use this excuse for 2 reasons:

#1 Your just plain lazy
#2 Getting bad workout advice

As far as the first excuse being lazy I’m afraid there isn’t much I can do to help you. It is totally up to you to find the motivation and desire to lose weight and get healthier. Now stick with me here and maybe this will help you.

Getting bad workout advice. The internet is great but it is also full of misinformation. The newstand fitness magazines are fun to look at sometimes but the muscle building and fat burning workouts in them are pretty unrealistic. Since we are looking at how to burn fat here lets look at what one of the most common reccomendations for a fat burning workout is.

Can you guess what it is? The old treadmill. Its not that I am totally against the treadmill, its the way it is used. Spending an hour 4-5-6 times a week is a waste of time and a totally inefficent way to lose fat. But you see it everywhere in local gyms line after line of treadmills and people mindlessly using them.

Now used properly the treadmill can get you a great fat burning workout. But the way most people use them is as I mentioned very inefficient. So if you insist on using it here is how you should.

Interval training style, sprint for one minute, walk or jog for two are best for burning fat. You burn 100 calories in 20 minutes of low-intensity work compared to 160 calories in 10 minutes of high intensity, and you also burn more total fat in less time during a high-intensity fat burning workout.

Okay now lets talk about The Burpee. You may know it as the squat thrust we used to do back in school.

In case you have forgotten this is how you do the Burpee for a beginner.

1.Stand erect
2.Squat down putting your hands on the floor.
3.Kick your feet back so you are in a push up position.
4.Bring your feet back in so you are in the squat position.
5.Stand up.

Sounds easy enough right. Done properly and with intensity it will kick your butt(in a good way). What you want to do is set a timer for 10 minutes. Do as many reps as you can in that 10 minutes. Your next workout try to top the amount of reps you did last time. That is how you burn fat and build lean muscle, progression.

Used Exercise Equipment Bowflex Home Gym

If you are in the market for used exercise equipment, Bowflex Home Gym is typically one of the best buys that you will find. When you are in the market for used exercise equipment Bowflex Home Gym is usually much more affordable than when you buy it new. Even if the equipment has been used quite a bit you will find that it is probably in excellent condition. Bowflex Home Gym’s are made really well so they will stand the test of time through several owners a good deal of the time.

When you shop or used exercise equipment Bowflex Home Gym you will find that there are several different models to choose from. Some of the more common models that you will see are the Bowflex Ultimate, Bowflex Ultimate 2, Bowflex Extreme, Bowflex Extreme 2, and the Bowflex Blaze. These are simply different models that were released at different times. For the most part the technology is the same, though if you can choose one of the newer models you will find that it comes with more of the accessories and it is much easier to use. Also, most of the newer machines do not require you to change anything out, you can simply move from weight to weight without adjusting, which is really nice.

One of the best places to find used exercise equipment, Bowflex Home Gym models is in used sports stores. There are several chains across the country that offers a wide variety of sports and fitness supplies and equipment. Many of these stores carry the Bowflex Home Gym models because they know they will sell. You can often find them for less than half of their original price, which means you can get a $1200 machine for just $600 and sometimes less! This is a great deal, because as was mentioned before Bowflex machines typically stand up well over time. The most difficult part of the transaction may be getting the equipment home, but if you or a friend have a pickup truck or SUV with plenty of cargo room you generally won’t find it difficult.

If you cannot seem to find used exercise equipment Bowflex Home Gym in your local area you may want to look online. You might be surprised to find how many people sell their used goods, including exercise equipment, on the Internet. If you can find a really good deal and you are also able to see pictures of the product all you need to do is check on the shipping charges. As you might imagine, the Bowflex Home Gym equipment is relatively heavy and can cost a lot to ship. If you opt to buy used exercise equipment online then you should bee sure that you aren’t being charged too much to have it shipped to your home. Make sure you are still saving money when all is said and done, and also be sure that the package is insured just incase it is damaged during shipping.

The Bowflex Home Gym is definitely one of the best used exercise equipment deals you will find on the market. You may find a lot of infomercial type equipment that is being sold used, but when you come upon a Bowflex you will find that it is in stellar condition and really worth its resale price and then some. If you have quite a few used sports equipment providers in your area you may want to check with all of them for the best deal, though most of the time you can bet it is a good deal.

You may also want to check newspaper classifieds for used exercise equipment Bowflex Home Gym advertisements. Many people do not want to transport the equipment to the used stores so they advertise it for sale. Much of the time the owner is simply looking to get the equipment out of their garage or basement and will let you have it for a really good price. Of course, you should ask to see and even try out the machine before you buy, just to be sure that the equipment is still in good working order. If it is, then take your new yet used exercise equipment home and get in shape, the Bowflex can work wonders!

Gym Or Not To Gym Thats The Health Question

As the weather gets better all our thoughts turn to warm summer nights, holidays, bikinis, trunks and skimpy clothes and your flabby bits. There are so many ways to lose weight and we are bombarded by a multi billion pound diet industry that just seems to keep us fat after all that is how they make their money. So how can we battle the bulge?

Gyms are full of sweaty people that fall into two categories;

1) Fanatics with beautiful bodies and pitying looks at the rest of us as they get
their moneys worth from the fee of 50 upwards a month and for 12
months which = 600

2) Pitiful quitters who end up paying 600 for 5 visits which = 120 a go

Gym equipment when researched can be much more cost effective if you have the room and like watching the TV channel you like whilst exercising. Researching specialist sites is confusing and doesnt give you an overview of all types of equipment and all budgets. Littlewoods.com has a great selection and is far superior to Argos and other online retailers. You can compare the cost of each type of equipment and Littlewoods also give you 15 off your first order over 25 quote ZG134 or spread your costs by paying weekly over 20 weeks or 52 weeks at 0% interest if you like to control your spending and need help with the discipline of budgeting.

Carl Lewis motorised treadmill which is the most used piece of equipment in the gym and gives the fastest results in weight loss costs 359 spread over 52 weeks with 0% interest this is 6.90 a week. This equates to the cost of cutting back on 2 pints or your Costa coffee weekly bill.

The Littlewoods catalogue site shows the best sellers and compares prices. A bike typically found in spin class which burns 1000 calories an hour was reduced by 52 and cost 127 and is 2.44 a week. A cross trainer is another favourite in the gym and will give you the honed, toned sexy look for summer we all crave.

Dog walking (your own or other peoples)

The grateful loving look from your four legged friend and fresh air cannot be underestimated as a stress and weight buster. Walking with a pair of MBT trainers that I found on Littlewoods catalogue site have toned my bum and thighs up incredibly. I have reduced my thigh measurement by 3 inches in 6 weeks, my arms by 2 inches and my waist by 4 inches without changing my diet.

Walking for an hour a day does not cause injuries found in the gym, with runners or mad joggers. It exercises your whole body if you get the technique and footwear correct. Waling longer walks at the weekend lets you explore the countryside but an absolute must is a great pair of walking boots. Brasher are not the prettiest but are like slippers and need no breaking in. Littlewoods online stock all the top makes of walking boots and if you buy walking poles then you get an upper body workout and it takes the strain off your knees coming downhill. Cost of a decent pair of boots or trainers is 100 spread over 52 weeks as Littlewoods offer mentioned above is 2. But you do need a nice place to walk or it is back to the living room, watching coronation street burning fat on my new treadmill.

Weight Training The Ideal Length Of Time For A Workout

Have you ever been daunted by the prospect of having to work out for hours in order to get an amazing physique?
Perhaps you may have fallen for the conventional wisdom that the more time you spend in the gym, the better your muscle gains will be?

Think again. Staying too long in the gym can actually be counterproductive. Short and intense workouts are the way to go if your goal is to maximize your muscle gains. Spending additional time in the gym is not going to provide you with any additional benefits.

Contrary to what you think, it might end up reducing your muscle gain. Here is the explanation: The body releases a hormone called cortisol after forty five minutes of any form of strenuous exercise. The effect of cortisol is that it breaks down muscle tissue in order to provide additional energy to the body during strenuous activity. As a result, by overtraining you could actually end up losing muscle.

Ideally your workout should last no more than an hour. This does not include the couple minutes of warm up that I usually recommend. Going beyond an hour means compromising the important recovery time.

The recovery period is extremely important because this is when muscle growth actually occurs. This is why it is important to sleep at least 8 hours every night, especially on days when you have had an intense workout.

The other benefit of doing short intense workouts is the mental factor. You are much more likely to dread and skip multi-hour workouts whereas you would likely look forward to a shorter one. Doing long workouts is one of the reasons why many get de-motivated and do not stick with the program.

Avoid chit chatting and making small talk while you in the gym as this tends to drag out the length of your workout. Focus intensely on getting your sets and reps done, and be out. Of course, as I have stated before, having your pen and notebook handy makes this easier as you check off the list of exercises. Winging it and not having a plan makes it much more difficult. Not only that, you spend your lime less efficiently.

And if those are not enough reasons, when you do long marathon training sessions, you stress out your joints more and increase the likelihood of injury. As you know, all it take is one serious injury to put you out of commission for a while, which could set you back several months in attaining your goals.

Lastly, if you do overly long workouts and you let them take over your life and other activities, you will soon start resenting the workouts and start skipping a session here and there. Of course, this impedes your progress. With short intense sessions you can be in and out of the gym relatively quickly and be free to pursue your activities. You will be much happier and complete if you also have a life outside of the gym.

In summary, short and intense is good. Long and drawn out is bad. Remember this and you will avoid the temptation to get distracted and lose focus when in the gym.

Remember that in bodybuilding, education is as important as dedication.

To take part in a free mini-muscle building course follow the link below.

Matthew McConaughey’s Movie Star Workout

You won’t see Matthew McConaughey doing bench-presses at the gym. In fact, lately, you won’t see People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive 2005” anywhere near a gym. Matthew McConaughey maintains his Adonis-like physique by enjoying various calisthenics workouts. The t-shirt-challenged star is often seen doing pushups by the beach, doing pull-ups at the park, running, swimming, or even cycling with his buddy Lance Armstrong. These types of workouts are what allow Matthew McConaughey to keep his body lean and sculpted.

However, when McConaughey has to ditch his attractive lean and fit model bod and get into action-figure shape for movie roles like his one playing leading-man “Dirk Pitt” in the action-adventure movie “Sahara”, he relies on supersets. Supersets are an excellent way to get in shape and bulk up your muscle mass in a short amount of time.

Basically, a superset is an advanced training method in which you engage your muscles by performing two exercises in a row with no resting time in between the sets. Supersets are advantageous to those who want to have a quick workout, increase the intensity of their workout, and prevent injuries by overloading your muscles without the heavy weights that require a spotter. Supersets allow your body to shed fat and build more muscle in less time by shocking your muscles into accelerated growth.

There are many different types of supersets that you can do. These include:

Pre-exhaustion – Using the same muscle group, do one isolating exercise and then one compound exercise. Ex: leg extensions followed by squats

Post-exhaustion – Same muscle group, do one compound exercise, and then one isolating exercise. Ex: squats followed by leg extension

Isolation – Two isolating exercises. Ex: dumbbell fly and cable crossover

Compound – Do two exercises that both workout multiple muscles groups. Ex: Squats and leg presses

Opposing muscle groups – Two exercises that focus on opposing muscle groups (biceps/triceps,back/chest, hamstrings/quadriceps). Ex: Bicep curls followed by triceps

Staggered supersets – Throwing in mini workouts in between sets. Ex: doing crunches in between chess press sets

Tri-Sets – Doing any of the other supersets, but doing three exercises instead of two.