October 15th, 2009 Milan
If you are a beginner or an elderly person without gym membership, you can still enjoy full benefits of strength training. If you are not, print and give this plan with couple of dumbbells to your parents or grandparents so they can start enjoying those benefits today.
It will make a huge difference for inactive person to keep doing this simple workout 2-4 times per week on a nonconsecutive days.
What will you need?
Women will need two 5 pound dumbbells. Later, when you get stronger, switch them for two 6 pound dumbbells.
Men will need two 8 pound dumbbells. Later, when you get stronger, switch them for two 10 pound dumbbells.
If starting with that weight is too heavy, keep them, but go get two 3 pound dumbbells for women, and two 5 pound dumbbells for men. Do the same thing when the weight is too light.
2 – 5 circles of:
1. Dumbbell shoulder press – 15 repetitions
Starting position: stand straight holding dumbbells over the shoulders – inhale.
Press dumbbells straight up without locking your elbows – exhale. Lower slowly dumbbells to the starting position.
2. Dumbbell biceps curl – 15 repetitions
Starting position: stand straight holding dumbbells next to your body – inhale.
Curl dumbbells up to 45 degree angle in your elbow – exhale. Return slowly to the starting position and repeat.
3. Seating dumbbell rows
Starting position: sit on the chair holding dumbbells. Lean forward keeping your back straight and head up – inhale.
Lift dumbbells up keeping your back straight – exhale. Return slowly to starting position and repeat.
4. Seating dumbbell triceps curl
Starting position: sit on the chair holding dumbbells over your head, elbows extended – exhale.
Inhaling and bending only your elbows, lower the dumbbells slowly down. Lift dumbbells back up to the starting position and repeat.
5. Standing lateral shoulder raises
Starting position: stand straight holding dumbbells next to your body – inhale.
Lift the dumbbells up to the side (lateral) keeping your elbows extended – exhale. Return slowly to the starting position and repeat.
6. Seating toe raises
Starting position: sit straight on the chair, hands holding dumbbells are on top of your knees – inhale.
Raise your toes up – exhale. Return slowly to the starting position.
7. Seating leg extension
Starting position: sit straight on the chair holding the sides of the chair – inhale.
Extend your knees and lift your feet up – exhale. Slowly return to the starting position.
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June 5th, 2009 Milan
Like most people, all day long, every day, you use your muscles. They don’t get stronger, they don’t get healthier, they don’t grow, they stay the same – weak.
You quit using your muscles before you reach the moment where the stress causes them to start growing and get stronger. It’s the natural thing to do, because an exhausted muscle feels unsafe and it hurts.
You need to do a many repetitions first for no reason other than to tire out your muscle, so that the last few repetitions will make that muscle so tired and that will cause that muscle to grow and get stronger.
People who weigh-train successfully pay their dues in the first many repetitions with heavy enough weight and then get all the benefits at the very end, where it gets very hard.
Unsuccessful people pay exactly the same dues, but stop few repetitions too early.
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February 13th, 2009 Milan
Strong body makes the mind strong.
Strength training stimulates endorphins, neuro-transmitters, making you feel good during and fallowing strength training. It is improving blood flow with that brings oxygen and nutrients to your brain.
Regular strength training improves your mood, decreases anxiety, improves sleep, decreases stress and raises self-esteem.
When your body is strong, firing on all cylinders, your mind is strong too, you can’t help but feel more focused and, yes you are smarter.
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February 12th, 2009 Milan
Many people, mainly women, resist strength training because they’re concerned it’s going to make them “look big” or muscle bound.
Here is the irony: Strength training shapes you smaller.
That’s because a pound of muscle is much smaller and takes up less space than pound of fat. A pound of fat is about the size of a big grapefruit. In contrast, a pound of lean muscle is about a size of a lemon.
Using these analogy, imagine how great you would look and feel if you swap 20 pounds of fat (think 20 grapefruits) for five pounds of lean muscle (think 5 lemons).
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December 13th, 2008 Milan
If you are beginner, take as much time as you need between sets to avoid feeling dizzy or overly fatigued, especially during the first 3 weeks.
As your muscles develop and you advance, start to keep track of the time spent resting between sets.
Fallow these rules:
1. When exercising at lower intensity, rest about 1. to 2. minutes between sets
2. If you’re more advanced and already lifting heavier workloads, rest longer for 2. to 4. minutes between sets
3. If your goal is to increase muscle endurance – strength, then rest periods should be short: 30 to 60 second
4. When doing circuit training, your rest between exercises is usually kept to a minimum to maximize cardiovascular benefits by keeping your heart rate pumping at an elevated rate
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November 2nd, 2008 Milan
Intensive strength training has a bigger effect on metabolism – calorie burn and weight loss than endurance exercise.
Intensity is the most important factor determining post-workout metabolism, so the harder you work in the gym or on the beach the more calories your body will burn afterward.
People who intensively strength train achieve so called – post-workout fat oxidation. “Fat oxidation” is what happens when your body uses oxygen and fat cells to turn into energy.
Yes you burn more calories while you do your aerobic workout for an hour than lifting weights for an hour, but 13 hours after the intensive weight workout, the men and women are burning 20% more fat than they did 13 hours after the aerobic workout.
You would’ve need to burn twice as many calories during your aerobic workout, to reach the level of post-workout fat oxidation achieved by weight lifting.
Even if evidences show, that weight lifting is more effective to loose fat, you shouldn’t forget your aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is a part of well balanced exercise program that improves your cardiovascular system and keeps your heart healthy, plus it also burns a lot of calories too.
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August 23rd, 2008 Milan
To achieve better strength, health and performance, you need to train at the threshold of intensity.
For example when doing 3 sets of 15 repetitions per exercise:
- in the 1st set adjust the load, so you are able to finish15R – repetitions with correct technique, with little difficulty, but it is still somehow challenging
- in the 2nd set increase the load so you have a harder time to complete 15R with correct technique, but you can still do it
- in the 3rd set follow the 10-15 rule; choose the weight light enough that you can lift it 10 times with correct technique, but heavy enough that you can’t lift it more than 15 times, if you are able to complete for example 13 repetitions decrease the load by 5 or 10 pounds and finish the set to 15 repetitions.
You will have to experiment with the weight for a little while before you reach the right intensity, but once you know the numbers, you will start improving fast.
Please give yourself enough time to find the right loads for yourself to avoid injury.
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