Free Customized Online Fitness Program

I have been asked why am I doing this. The bottom line answer is because a lot of people need fitness help.

I need to start from the beginning. Some of my fitness clients awhile back suggested that I share my knowledge and somewhat unique training method with others. They explained to me that there are a lot of people that need fitness help but can’t afford it or can’t find a good personal trainer.

My first thought was are you people crazy!!! Why would I give knowledge that I get paid for away for free. Their answer to that was it would be my legacy. So what do you say to that?

After looking at my schedule and client list. I realized that I did not have much more room in my schedule to add new clients. Between taking care of my old clients and being the assistant coach for my son’s high school basketball team my time was taken up.

So what was I really doing with the knowledge I had accumulated over the years. Only a handful of people would benefit from it and then what? So I thought about it. Should I write a book? I then thought about all those fitness books I had read. The problem I always had with them was that there is no follow up or support for the readers. So no book deal for me.

Again my clients made another suggestion, blogging. Blogging??? How in the world would I blog? I had read other people’s blogs, but I thought you had to be a web designer or have a web designer create a blog for you, to have your own blog.

When it was explained to me that I could get my own blog, write about anything I wanted to write about and interact with my readers, the light bulb came on (duh!).

So, I started The Fitness Game blog, which I use to share my knowledge and incite. It has grown from there.

Before I started the blog, a few of my clients asked me if I would help their friends and family members that did not live in my area. They asked me to customize workouts and email it to them. I also would support them online via email. I agreed to it and it worked out very well. I communicate with them as their personal trainer on a weekly basis. They have gotten excellent results.

Recently, I found out that a few of them have been promoting my blog and telling people about me doing customized workouts over the internet.

At first I was a little upset, because I started getting requests from all these people that I didn’t know. Then it struck me, isn’t this why I started this blog in the first place to help as many people as I can.

So I have embraced it and I am having the time of my life helping people. I do pledge that if you request my help you will get it. You just have to bear with me, if I don’t get right back to you right away.

I am trying to develop a system, so that those that have time sensitive issues, I deal with first.

I do have some rules.

1. If your not going to follow the program I have done for you, don’t waste your time and mine asking for it. There are other people who really want and need my help.
2. Don’t ask me to assist you in doing anything unhealthy for you, such as ask what steroids should I take or how do I make myself throw up. Not happening.
3. If I help you, you must communicate with me on a regular basis so I know how you are doing and if your going in the right direction. Your program might need adjustments from time to time.

So as you can see, I have committed to doing this. Lets see how long it will take me to pull my hair out. For those of you that are reading The Fitness Game, I will still be posting on a regular basis.

Until next time. Keep moving forward!!!

Getting Stronger is a Must – Part 4

Sorry it has been awhile since my last post. I have been doing a lot of free online customized fitness programs for people all around the world and it has been a blast. So I have not had the time to get to the Leg Muscle Section until now. So, lets jump right into legs (pardon the pun).

As I did with the Abdominal Area and the Front Section, I will give you my recommended foundation exercises. After that I will make a list of additional exercises for you to choose from.

The Leg Muscle Group consists of : 1. Quadriceps (Quads) 2. Gluteal Muscle Group (better known as the Butt Muscles) 3. Hamstring 4. Calves

You will notice later that most of the exercises dealing with the Leg Section is the same for the different muscle groups. There are only a few isolation exercises for the legs, except for the Calves.

The first group we will cover is actually a combo. We will be looking at the Quadriceps and The Butt Muscles together. The fact is that when your working out your Quads, your also working out your Butt. Each Group only has one isolation exercise.

The Quadricep is made up of 4 muscles that work in concert as one. The Quads are crucial for walking, running and standing. It is the set of muscles that give power to the legs. With that being said, it is the most attention grabbing muscle in the body, outside of the abs.

Next we will look at the Gluteal Muscles Group or the Butt Muscles. This group is made up of 3 muscles that work in concert as one. The Butte Muscles are one of the strongest muscles in the in the human body. It handles the pushing and pulling of the leg. It is always working with either the Quad or the Hamstring when the leg is moving.

Lets look at Quads / Butte Muscle Exercises. The 5 basic exercises I recommend are:

1. Leg Press – Combination

1. Position yourself on the leg press machine comfortably.
2. Put your feet up and hands on the grips at the side.
3. While keeping your back pressed against the support and head straight, lower the weight until there is a ninety degree angle.
4. Then raise the weight with your heels.
5. Repeat 4 sets of 25 reps

2. Dumbbell or Barbell Squats – Combination

1. Stand with feet hip- or shoulder-width apart.
2. With barbell on the rack (at shoulder height) approach it with the back of your shoulders having the weight. While keeping your back and head straight, lift the weight off the rack. With Dumbbells hold medium to heavy dumbbells in each hand just outside the thighs or with arms bent above the    shoulders.
3. Bend the knees and lower into a squat. Stop when your knees are at 90-degree angles OR before you lose the natural arch of your back.
4. Contract the glutes and legs while stabilizing your body with a strong torso.
5. Slowly stand back up without locking the knees and repeat for 4 sets of 25 reps.

3. Leg Extensions – Isolation (Quads)

1. To perform the leg extension, sit comfortably on the leg extension machine.
2. Keeping your back and head straight, raise the weight until it is straight (as shown).
3. Then proceed to lower the weight while holding onto the hand grips on the sides of the machine.
4. Repeat 4 set of 25 reps

4. Deadlifts – Combination

1. To begin the Deadlift stand with your feet shoulder width apart and while keeping your back straight bend at your knees to pick up the barbell (with an alternate hand grip).
2. Now, raise the weight using your legs and back until you are completely erect keeping the weight as close as you can to your body.
3. Keep your head up. The movement is completed when you roll your shoulders back and stick your chest out.
4. Repeat for 4 sets of 20 reps

5. Butt Kickbacks – Isolation (Butt)

1. Kneel down with one leg behind your body slightly raised and bent in a 90 degree position.
2. Now raise the leg as high as you can and slowly lower it to the starting position.
3. Repeat 4 sets of 25 reps

Additional Quad / Butt Exercises

1. Walking Lunges – Combination
2. Jump Squats – Combination
3. Smith Split Squat – Combination
4. Reverse Lunges – Combination
5. Step Ups – Combination
6. Clean and Jerk – Combination
7. Lunges – Combination
8. Exercise Ball Squats – Combination
9. Front Squats – Combination
10. Cable Squats – Combination

Next the Hamstring Muscle, its main job is to allow the leg to flex (bend) and extend. It also play the antagonist to the Quadricep.

Lets look at the Hamstring. The 3 basic exercises I recommend are:

1. Leg Curl or Hamstring Curl – Isolation

1. Lie on the machine comfortably while hooking your legs underneath the pad.
2. Then raise the weight until comfortable, while holding on to the hand grips (as shown).
3. Repeat 4 sets of 25 reps

2. Walking Lunges – Combination

1. To begin a walking lunge stand upright with or without weights in your hands.
2. Now take a lunge forward while never letting your knee go ‘over’ your toe.
3. Once at the bottom of the lunge (not touching the floor), push off with the back foot and then approach the standing position.
4. Repeat with the other leg.
5. Make sure to breath out on the way up and breathe in on the actual lunge.
6. Repeat 4 sets of 25 reps

3. Good Mornings – Combination

1. While standing, place a barbell across the back of your shoulders as you would for squats.
2. Keeping your legs rigid, bend forward at the waist, with head up, until your upper body is parallel with the floor.
3. Reverse the movement to bring your upper body back up.
4. Repeat 4 sets of 20 reps

Additional Hamstring Exercises

1. Exercise Ball Hamstring Curls – Isolation
2. Straight Leg Deadlifts – Combination
3. Walking Lunges – Combination
4. Hack Squats – Combination
5. Lunges – Combination

Finally the Calf Muscle is made up of 2 muscles. The main functions of the calf muscle is to stabilize the body when its in motion and to raise the heel.

The 3 basic exercises I recommend are:

1. Seated Calf Raises – Isolation

1. Sit on the machine with your thighs underneath the pads with your toes on the bottom pad.
2. Lower your heels as low as you can and then raise them as high as you can.
3. Repeat 4 sets of 25 reps

2. Standing Calf Raises – Isolation

1. While standing (as shown)lower the weight until you feel your calves stretch.
2. Then push the weight back up feeling your calves flex at the top of the exercise.
3. Repeat 4 sets of 25 reps

3. Step Ups – Combination

1. Start by looking at a bench in front of you and begin by lifting your any leg and then step-up onto the bench.
2. You can either return to the starting position or lift the opposing leg up working your hip flexor.
3. Once down at the starting position use the other leg for the next repetition.
4. Repeat 4 sets of 25 reps

In the next section I will be covering the Back Muscle section. Until then keep moving forward and if you have any questions or need help with your workout just let me know and we will get you going where you want to be.

Need Some Feedback

To start I want to thank ever one for their kind comments and emails. I hope I can continue give you information that will change your lives. For those of you that don’t know feel free to ask questions. The only bad question is the one that was not asked.

For those of you that have asked Part 4 is coming, I had some SPARQ Training clients that wanted some extra sessions, so it slowed my writing down.

Here is where I need your feed back. Quite a number of you have requested that I start a section for Tips of the Day. I need to know if it would be something you would want to see and do you think it would be helpful to you. Please let me know yes or no. The Tip Section would be in addition to my writing on the Fitness Game.

Also for the people who are having problems getting your fitness program together, write me and I will help you put a customized workout together. That it for now. Thanks for your time and Keep Moving Forward!

Yes I Detox – It has changed my Life

I have been getting a lot of questions about Detoxing. So you understand where I am coming from on it, I am making this post.

I am 49 years old and in great shape, because I actually do everything that I write about in The Fitness Game. Even being in great shape I was having energy problems. Some days I would have good energy and some day my energy would be in the toilet. I took vitamins and ate well but it would not change. Then I met one of the owners of World wide Detox. He came to me because he was looking for a trainer.

After a couple of training, the topic of Detoxing came up. At the time I knew nothing about it Detoxing at this point. Once he broke down what Detoxing was and what it did for you, I gave it a try.  It turn out to be the element I was missing in my program.

My energy levels started going up, and maintaining. My thought process was sharper and faster. All around I just felt better. I had all my clients get on the program and all have had the same results.

To answer your questions I have only used the Master Detox for detoxing purposes, I have not tried any other products because this one worked for me. No side effects or extreme internal changes occured. It was very mild and gradual. I take the product everyday. I did in the beginning do the combination of Master Detox and the Z Life product. But you only take the Z Life for a short period of time. It pulls all the heavy metals out of your body.

Again, I don’t have any part of their company or an endorsement contract. I know that we have mutually changed each others life. So yes I am telling you, you won’t go wrong using this product. And yes most of you need to detox.

Getting Stronger Is A Must – Part 3

Lets get right into this.

Just like I did for the Abdominal Muscles, I will be giving you my recommended foundation exercises. Then I will follow with a list of others you can choose from.

Also before I get into the actual exercises I want to discuss three important elements;

1. Percentage of weight you should use during the exercise.

I recommend that you use between 40% to 60% of your max weight. So if your max weight is 100 lbs then you would use 40 lbs minimum.

For you beginners, that don’t know what your max weight is, use the amount of weight that you can just barely finish your set with. It will take some experimenting, don’t get frustrated remember The Torpedo Principal.

2. Controlling the weight during exercise

When lifting make sure your not jerking or slinging the weight. Whether your pushing or pulling you want to have a smooth controlled movement.

This will accomplish 2 things. First, it will keep you from lifting with bad form and second, it will minimize injuries.

3. The rest periods between sets and exercises (single and partners)

I recommend that you keep your rest periods very low. Between sets 30 seconds to 45 seconds. Beginners 45 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes. Between exercises 1 minute to 1 1/2 minutes. For beginners 1 1/2 minutes to 2 minutes.

When working with a partner their is no rest periods.  Go right through the sets and the exercises. Your rest is while your supporting your partner.

Now lets look at the Front Muscle Group. Again, what I call the Vanity Group. The muscle group consist of the Chest, Triceps, Biceps and Forearms.

Quick note: I will be giving you two types of exercises, Combination and Isolation. Combination Exercises are exercises that have more than one muscle group participates almost on an equal basis.  For example the Bench Press. It actually includes the Shoulders and Triceps, along with the Chest. The three muscles almost equally share the work. Isolation Exercises are exercises that isolate a muscle, where it is doing at least 80% of the work. For example Chest Flyes isolate the Chest muscle about 90%.

I will be mixing the Combination and Isolation Exercises together, but I will tag each exercise so you know which is which.

Lets look at the Chest. The 3 basic exercises I recommend are:

1. The Chest Dumbbell Bench Press    -    Combination

1. Lie down on a bench, step or the floor. Begin with the barbell hovering just over the chest, elbows bent. Place the hands on the bar a bit wider than the shoulders.
2. Contract the chest and push the weight straight up over the chest without locking the elbows at the top.
3. Bend the elbows and lower the weight down until the elbows are just below the level of the chest.
4. Repeat for 4 sets 15 reps.

Tips

• Keep the abs contracted throughout the movement to protect your back.
• Keep the motion slow and controlled — try not to use momentum.

2. The Chest Dumbbell Flyes   -   Isolation

1. Lie on the floor, bench or step. Hold weights over the chest with the palms facing each other.
2. Keeping the elbows slightly bent, lower the arms out to the sides and down until they’re level with the chest.
3. Keep the elbows in a fixed position and avoid lowering the weights too low.
4. Squeeze chest to bring the arms back up as though you’re hugging a tree.
5. Repeat for 4 sets of 15 reps.

3. Pushups   -   Combination

1. Get down on the hands and knees, positioning the hands a bit wider than the shoulders.
2. Push the knees up so that you’re resting on the hands and toes. Keep the abs engaged and make sure your body is in a straight line from the head to the heels.
3. Bend the elbows and lower into a pushup until your elbows are at about 90 degrees.
4. Press back to start and repeat for 4 sets of 20 reps.

Tips

• Don’t lead with your chin. Keep your head down so that your neck is in alignment with the rest of your body throughout the movement.
• Avoid sagging in the middle. If you do, take both knees down to the floor to give the back more support.

Additional Chest Exercises

1. Incline Chest Dumbbell Flyes   -   Isolation
2. Incline Chest Dumbbell Press  -   Combination
3. Machine Chest Flyes – Isolation
4. Judo Pushups – Combination

Quick note: I recommend the Dumbbell exercises over the Straight Bar Bench Press. When using the dumbbells you must maintain balance and you can not cheat like you can on the Straight Bar. You can shift your body where your using your stronger side more to make the lift.

Lets look at the Triceps. The 3 basic exercises I recommend are:

1. Seated Tricep Extension   -   Combination

1. Sit on a bench or ball (more challenging) and hold a medium weight at one end with both hands overlapping one another.
2. Take the weight straight up overhead with the arms next to the ears.
3. Lower the weight behind the head until elbows are at about 90 degree angles.
4. Squeeze the triceps to straighten the arms without locking the joints.
5. Repeat for 4 sets of 15 reps.

2. Tricep Kickbacks – Isolation

1. Sit on a bench or ball (more challenging) and hold a medium weight at one end with both hands overlapping one another.
2. Take the weight straight up overhead with the arms next to the ears.
3. Lower the weight behind the head until elbows are at about 90 degree angles.
4. Squeeze the triceps to straighten the arms without locking the joints.
5. Repeat for 4 sets of 15 reps.

3. Tripcep Dips   -   Isolation

1. Sit on a bench or chair.
2. Begin with the hands next to or slightly under the hips.
3. Lift up onto the hands and bring the hips forward off the chair.
4. Bend the elbows (no lower than 90 degrees) and lower the hips down, keeping them very close to the chair.
5. Push back up without locking the elbows and repeat for 4 sets of 20 reps.

Tips

• Keep the shoulders down and away from the ears to protect them from injury.
• Keep the hips close to the bench or chair to keep the focus on the triceps and not the shoulders.
• To make it easier, move the feet to the floor.

Addtional Tricep Exercises

1. Dumbbell Tricep Press – Isolation
2. Overhead Cable Extension – Isolation
3. Tricep Pulldowns – Combination
4. Exercise Ball Pushup – Combination

Next lets look at the Bicep muscles. The 3 basic exercises I recommend are:

1. Bicep Dumbbell Curl – Isolation

1. Stand with feet about hip-width apart, abs engaged as you hold medium-heavy dumbbells in front of the thighs.
2. Squeeze the biceps and bend the arms, curling the weights up towards the shoulders.
3. Keep the elbows stationary and only bring the weight as high as you can without moving the elbows.
4. Slowly lower the weights, keeping a slight bend in the elbows at the bottom (e.g., don’t lock the joints and try to keep tension on the muscle)
5. Repeat for 4 sets of 15 reps.

Bicep Dumbbell Preacher Curl – Isolation

1. Holding weights, kneel in front of the ball and drape yourself over it, placing the elbows about halfway down the ball and parallel to one another.
2. Lower the weights until arms are almost fully extended.
3. Contract the biceps to raise the weights until the forearms are vertical to the back of the upper arm.
4. Repeat for 4 sets of 15 reps.

Tips

• This move can strain the front side of the elbow if you use weight that is too heavy or if you don’t position yourself correctly. If you feel any pain or discomfort, skip this exercise.
• Use control when lowering the weight to avoid injury.
• Don’t stop short of full range of motion. Try to lower the weights until your arms are nearly straight.

3. Hammer Curls – Isolation

1. Stand with feet about hip-width apart, abs engaged as you hold medium-heavy dumbbells in front of the thighs.
2. Turn the hands so that the palms face each other and squeeze the biceps to curl the weights towards the shoulders.
3. Keep the elbows stationary and only bring the weight as high as you can without moving the elbows.
4. Slowly lower the weights, keeping a slight bend in the elbows at the bottom (e.g., don’t lock the joints and try to keep tension on the muscle)
5. Repeat for 4 sets of 15 reps.

Additional Bicep Exercises

1. Dumbbell Alternate Bicep Curl – Isolation
2. Cross Body Hammer Curl – Isolation
3. Chinups – Combination
4. Concentration Curl – Isolation
5. Preacher Hammer Dumbbell Curl – Isolation

Finally lets look at the Forearm muscles. The 2 basic exercises I recommend are:

1. Palms Down Dumbbell Wrist Curl – Isolation

1. Hold two dumbbells and sit at the end of a flat bench with your feet on the floor about 20 inches apart.
2. Lean foreward and place forearms on upper thighs, palms up.
3. Place the back of your wrists over your knees.
4. Lower dumbbells as far as possible keeping a tight grip.
5. Curl dumbbell up as high as possible.

I have decided to end this session here, I want to keep each muscle group separate. Tomorrow I will deal with the Leg Muscle Group. Until then keep moving forward.

Getting Stronger Is A Must – Part 2

I apologize to all of you who read my blog for not posting this session sooner. I had to assist my son on his quest of being one of the top high school basketball players in the country. He has been going to a bunch of High School All-Star Camps and playing exceptionally well. I think that he will wind up being one of the top 10 players in the country after next season. (A proud father boosting moment).

So now I’m back in the saddle.

As I stated in Part 1, my goal in this session is to get you the foundation for setting up a good strength program. Don’t forget the strength program combined with your aerobic and good nutrition program wil be the working elements to ensuring your winning The Fitness Game.

First, remember FLAB (no I am not talking about the enemy here), it stands for Front-Legs-Abdominal-Back. This is the way I suggest you break your body into sections for exercising purposes.

Let’s take a look at the Front.  This group consist of the Chest, Triceps, Biceps and Forearms. They are our vanity muscles. The muscles people usually judge us by. People tend to work out this group of muscles more than the others (especially males). Later I wil break down the exercises for this group of muscles.

Next we will look at the Legs. I keep the legs as one group because you only have to worry about 4 areas, Quadriceps, Hamstring, Calves and Gluteus Maximus (Butt). It is very important that your lower muscles get worked. They are the largest group of muscles in the body and will help you burn the most fat when their engaged.

Also, you need strong legs to get through your aerobic exercises. Stronger legs also can give you more energy. It takes less effort to move from place to place. Later I wil break down the exercises for each of the lower muscle groups.

Next lets take a look at the Abdominal area or the core. This group of muscles make your body stable and transfer power to different zones in your body. This group of muscles consist of interior and exterior abdominal muscles (six pack)  and oblique muscles (side). This muscle group is the hardest to get in shape and maintain. The reason for this is that your core is under constant pressure and resistance even when your sitting. Later I will break down the exercises for this group of muscles.

Finally we look at the back muscles. This group of muscles consist of the Upper back, Lower Back, Deltoids and Trapezius. This group of muscles gets neglected a great deal when it comes to exercising. Even though the back is responsible for our posture and is asked to do a great deal of work. One note the lower back is really part of the core but is easier to deal with when keeping it in this group. Later I will break down the exercises for this group of muscles.

Now let me start breaking down the exercises for each group. I am going to throw you a curve because I am going to do them out of the order I introduced them to you. I will be breaking down the Abdominal first. The reason for this is that you should exercise this group at least 5 days a week, which you will see, will differ from the rest of the groups.

Remember I told you that it is the hardest group to get in shape and maintain, that is why I am dealing with it first. First things first, I want to get a myth about this group of muscles out of the way. Some people believe if you exercise this muscle group a lot you will lose the fat around your midsection. I dealt with the way fat is lost in a earlier session, but this bears repeating. There is no such thing as spot toning. If you do a lot of exercises with this group of muscle and your overweight, what will happen is that you will have very strong and well defined abdominal muscles, but they will be sitting under a layer of fat. Just waiting to get out and be seen.

Like I use to tell people when I was getting back in shape. I have a six pack underneath my keg. Don’t laugh. Well go ahead it is pretty funny.

The first thing you need to know is I don’t recommend situps. Neither I nor any of my clients do them. They are bad for your neck and back. I only recommend crunches and some forms of leg lifts.

To give you a starting point, I recommend the following 4 exercises:

1. The Basic Crunch

• Lie on your back, bend your knees, placing your hands on the sides on your head.
• Contract your abs and flatten your lower back against the floor.
• Slowly lift your shoulder blades one or two inches off the floor.
• Exhale as lift, keep your neck straight and chin up.
• Hold for a few seconds (don’t hold you breath).
• Slowly lower while keeping you abs contracted.

3 sets of 20 reps

2. The Reverse Crunch

• Lie on your back with knees bend and feet on the floor
• Place hands on the floor or behind the head.
• Bring your knees up towards the chest so they bend about 90 degrees
• Contract your abs and lift your hips off the floor in a very small movement.
• Lower and repeat.

3 sets of 20 reps

3. Crunches on Exercise Ball

Sit on the exercise ball with your feet flat on the floor.
Let the ball roll back slowly and lie back until your thighs and torso are parallel with the floor.
Contract your abdominals raising your torso to no more than 45 degrees.
To work the oblique muscles, make the exercise less stable by moving your feet closer together.

3 set of 20 reps

4. Side Crunches

Lie on your back with your legs bent over to the right while keep your back and shoulders square on the floor. Proceed to lift and crunch up as shown on the right.

3 sets of 20 reps

Lie on your back with your legs bent over to the left while keep your back and shoulders square on the floor. Proceed to lift and crunch up as shown on the right.

3 sets of 20 reps

To start you might use just one of the exercises or you might use a couple of them. There are more good abdominal exercises. I have listed them below. You can try one of these as you advance or stick with the 4 I describe above, just up the number of reps.

More Abdominal Exercises:

1. Captain’s Chair Crunches
2. Planks
3. Cross Over Crunches
4. Bicycle Crunches
5. Rope or Cable Crunches
6. Ab Wheel Crunches
7. Crunches with Medicine Ball or Weight
8. Alternating Supermans
9. Seated Oblique Twists with Medicine Ball

As you can see there are plenty of abdominal exercises for you to choose from, so choose and get going.

I have decided to end this session here and cover the Front, Legs and Back in Part 3 and Part 4. Part 3 will definitely be on no later than Wednesday. If you have any questions about what I covered in this session, please email me and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Keep moving forward, remember it is all about winning The Fitness Game.

Getting Stronger Is A Must!!! Part 1

If your not willing to do Strength Training you will never get in top shape. Muscle may weigh more, but when you increase your muscle composition, the body is able to burn more fat, even when you are resting, because your metabolism is higher. A pound of muscle will use 350 to 500 calories per week to survive, while a pound of fat only needs about 14 calories per week .

When we are inactive or have little activity in our lives, our body would rather store fat over muscle because it is easier. Research indicates that muscle loss found in elderly people doesn’t come from age, but lack of activity. Even a young person who doesn’t get enough exercise can lose muscle mass and strength.

So, if your not maintaining or strengthening your muscles you will lose strength. So lets get started. First, what is your goal?

Most of us would agree that our goal is to get in the best shape shape we can. We are not looking to be Mr. or Ms. Universe, we just want to be healthy and look our best.

There are many ways to train, in the future I will address them in detail. Remember you want to find the best training program for you, remember The Torpedo Principle. I am going to address the foundation of the training program that has best worked for myself and my clients. All of the programs are not the same, each client’s program is customized but the foundation is the same. We are going to discuss a low to medium weight, high repetition program.

For example, say your maximum weight you can bench press is 100lbs, you are going to use 30% to 60% of that maximum weight. So if your just starting out you would use in this example 30lbs, more advanced you would use up to 60lbs.

The average amount of repetitions someone would do for a basic strength training program is between 8 to 12 reps. And usually 3 sets of a given exercise. You are going to increase both repetitions and sets.

Your reps will be between 15 to 25. You will be completing 4 or 5 sets per exercise. Don’t panic yet, it is going to be hard work, but remember your only using low to medium weight.

The most important rule in this training program is your rest periods. You will only rest between 10 to 20 seconds in between sets and only 1 to 2 minutes between exercises. It is not a lot of time to rest.

The reason that you don’t get to rest a lot in this program, you want to keep the blood constantly pumping to the muscle. The blood flowing to the muscle is what breaks the muscle down. Ok lets stop right here and cover muscle breakdown.

If you don’t know how a muscle is built up, you need to know. This is important, it will give you a different outlook on what strength training is all about.

The muscle is made up of active and inactive fibers or muscle cells. When a muscle is in use these fibers are stressed. During normal usage muscle does not get stronger, because there is no need. If the muscle can handle the task it does not seek to grow and/or get stronger.

When a muscle is stressed beyond its capacity to function it will start the fiber recruiting process. It will start to make the inactive fibers active, in order to handle the stress you are placing on the muscle.

Muscle fibers are very fast to recover. If your not putting constant stress on them they will snap back to normal state quickly without any growth or strengthening.

Have you ever seen the guy at the gym that goes all the time but looks no different. You see him complete and exercise then walk around for 5 minutes before he does the next exercise. He doesn’t change because he is not working the muscle hard enough, he is posing.

To build muscle strength and growth, you want to keep constant stress on the muscle. Ladies, you don’t have to worry, unless you use hormone supplements or steroids, you will not get much bigger. You will get stronger and denser.

Now that you know how the muscle basically works you can see why we do high rep sets, with very little rest in between. I guarantee that for those of you that have a workout routine already in place, if you change you rest period over to what I told you. You will get a more intense workout without increasing your reps.

For those of you that don’t have a workout routine I will be covering that in Part 2. Understand that what I am giving you is part of a Strength Training foundation. Once you have the foundation you will be able to modify it to fit your personal needs.

Remember this is still about winning the Fitness Game and your well on your way. Part 2 will be on tomorrow. If you have any question feel free to email me and I will get back to you as quickly as I can.

Detoxing – Is it worth the time and money?

Is Detoxing worth the time and money? The answer is a gigantic yes!!! Your body needs to Detox, Fact! Take a car for example. The waste comes out as fumes. If you cover the exhaust, or the filters get clogged, then pretty soon the car cuts out, it can’t run this way.

Similarly, your body gets rid of waste by going to the toilet, perspiring, breathing and shedding skin. The problem is that we take in toxins and preservatives faster than what the body’s natural detoxification system was designed to cope with.

All these toxins flood into the organs and eventually cause a host of problems. We start to get symptoms. Symptoms are the result of the body naturally dealing with something that is not right within the it. It is also a message to tell us something is wrong, but our modern medical system at times not only kills the messenger (hide the problem by dealing with the symptoms) with it’s drugs. It also stops the body’s own healing mechanism. Let me make it perfectly clear I am not berating modern medicine at all, I, like you depend on it.  I am merely am stating a fact the occurs and we are effected by it.

So, yes from time to time we all need help, detoxification. We take for granted that our colon, kidneys, liver, as well as many of the other organs that we have, all do rigorous work everyday. Detoxification can change everything and make all of our organs cleaner in order to function properly.

Some positive effects that detoxification can have on the body are:

1. Energy levels increase

2. Sleep is deeper and of better quality.

3. Help boost and regulate the immune system

4. Control body PH levels

5. Helps reduce bad body oder

6. Improve mental activity

On my blog I have a link to a site, where I have found the best detoxifier on the market. I use this product, as well as all my clients. It is the only product that I have found that allows you to safely detox on a daily basis. To answer your next question, I don’t own any part of the company. I am not a salesman and I don’t have an endorsement contract with the company that owns the product.

Across the board we have found our bodies and minds have improved after detoxification. Not detoxifying is like playing a game of basketball with one hand tied behind your back. You might win the game against a weak opponent but it will be difficult. Against a strong opponent you won’t stand a chance of winning.

Stop today and get yourself on a detox program. If you are not comfortable with the one on my site, find one that your comfortable with and get started. Turn your body into the high performance machine it is suppose to be.

Next session I will cover Strength Training don’t miss it. It will be an eye opener.

Aerobic Exercise – What you need to know about it

Don’t start bouncing around until you know why your doing it.

The last session, I had you make a list of all the sports and exercises you like to do and I had you label them. Today we are going to address the aerobic sports and exercises, so you truly understand how to label them. (If you have not been here before I suggest after you read this session, you go back and read the entire blog, you need to catch up. Believe me when I tell you, you will not regret it.)

First, what is aerobic exercise? Aerobic exercise is any activity that requires steady movements made by major muscle groups that burn oxygen for a specified period of time, and cause the heart and lungs to perform at 60 to 85% of their capacity.

A common misconception is that aerobic exercise tones and firms muscles. Actually it accomplishes very little toning and firming. The combination of aerobics and strength training is the optimal way to lose fat and gain muscle.

That seems pretty simple so what is the problem. There are 3 types of aerobic exercises, High Impact, Low Impact and No Impact. The most popular is High Impact, but it can pose the most problems for the body.

So what is the difference between High Impact, Low Impact, and No Impact Aerobics? Lets examine each one, so you can determine which one your sports and exercises fall under.

High Impact Aerobics

High Impact Aerobic exercises are movements that cause maximum impact on your joints and bones. Meaning your feet touch the floor with maximum force. Examples of High Impact Aerobics are jogging, hopping, skipping running, jumping rope, playing basketball and many aerobic dance classes.

You might ask the question what really is the big deal about High Impact’s effect on the body.

Here is the deal, gravity makes us fall at 32 feet per second, every second. Therefore, even in light running, where you are airborne for a short time, the foot pounds of pressure when your foot hits the ground (including forward movement as well as gravity) goes up and may be over twice what it is with walking. That means while running, a 180 pound man may land on one foot with about 360 pounds of pressure on that one ankle, knee and hip joint.

So you can see the problem, especially if you don’t have the muscle mass to help absorb the impact.

High Impact Aerobics present possible joint problems, mostly in the ankle, knee and hip. It could also adversely effect the spine. Your fitness level and age play a major role on the effect it has on your body. With that being said, don’t completely throw High Impact out the window. Lets look at the other 2 types of aerobics.

Low Impact Aerobics

Low Impact Aerobic exercises are movements performed with at least one foot on the floor at all times. As a result, there is far less stress on the joints and bones from impact with floor. Examples of Low Impact exercises are walking, step aerobics with no flight, treadmill with no flight, roller blading and lunges.

No Impact Aerobics

No Impact Aerobic exercises are movements that take stress totally off the joints. Examples of No Impact exercises are swimming, Stairmaster, cycling, elliptical machines, cross-country skiing and aqua aerobics.

Label you list.

If your like most people a great deal of your sports and exercises fall under High Impact aerobics. Not to worry. The best thing for you is to find a good mixture of High, Low and No Impact, better known as Cross Training. If you do the High Impact in moderation you should have no problems. Just be alert enough that if you knees, ankles, hips, or back start to get stiff, sore or swollen, you might need to back off of the High Impact for a while.

Remember the better shape your in the more pressure you can take. So maybe you limit your self to start with a few High Impact sports or exercises and add more as you get stronger. So choose your aerobic exercises and get started. If you need help choosing or have any question about setting up your workout email me. I will help you lay out your workout program.

Are You Losing The Fitness Game

If your struggling, frustrated, having doubt or ready to give up on the whole fitness thing. I created this blog for you. Read the Fitness Game from the beginning if you have any questions please email me. I am here to help you no strings attached. Don’t miss out on something that will help you win the Fitness Game.