The chest is made up of two main heads, the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. To stimulate the chest using weights you will be using one of two motions: a press or a flye. If you want the greatest bang for your buck from your chest workouts, the true gains lie in your pressing movements. Flyes may have their place from time to time, but nothing can compare to the overall anabolic effect of high intensity pressing movements. I’m talking about the basic, bread-and-butter lifts such as heavy barbell presses, dumbbell presses and wide-grip dips. Save the pec-deck and cable crossovers for the pencil necked geeks on the treadmill; real men train with real lifts.

Like I said before, building a thick and well-developed chest is fairly simple. There are no secrets, magic formulas or killer techniques that will “shock” your chest into massive growth. Stick to your basic presses, focus on overload and progression, and I promise that you will see impressive gains. Here are the most effective lifts for packing muscle onto the chest:

Flat/Incline/Decline Barbell Bench Press:

A standard barbell press is the meat and potatoes of any effective chest routine. This basic compound movement will allow you to handle the most weight through the given range of motion. The incline press will shift more of the stress to the upper region of the chest while the decline does the opposite, targeting the lower/outer region. The flat bench press works the upper and lower regions equally. I highly recommend a standard barbell press as a basic component of your chest routine.

Flat/Incline/Decline Dumbbell Press:

Dumbbell presses are another basic and highly effective movement for stimulating chest development. The main advantage that they have over the barbell is that they allow you to move through a more natural range of motion, helping to prevent shoulder injuries. They also prevent strength imbalances from occurring since one arm can’t cheat for the other. The only drawback is that you are not able to handle as much weight. Overall, a standard dumbbell press is an awesome movement that allows for great chest stimulation.

Wide-Grip Dips:

An amazing movement for the chest that is often overlooked. Make sure to use a wider grip and lean forward to shift the stress from the triceps onto the pectorals. If pressing your own body weight is not sufficient then you can always add weight using a weight belt. Dips are an excellent compound movement for overall chest development.

Here are a couple sample chest routines:

1) Flat Barbell Bench Press: 2 x 5-7
Incline Dumbbell Press: 2 x 5-7
Wide-Grip Dips: 2 x 5-7

2) Incline Barbell Bench Press: 2 x 5-7
Wide-Grip Dips: 2 x 5-7
Flat Dumbbell Press: 2 x 5-7

All sets should stay within the 5-7 rep range and should be taken to complete muscular failure. Write down the details of each workout you perform and focus on progressing in either weight or reps from week to week. There is nothing more to it than that. Good luck!

Many people consider that a diet is represented by extreme suppression of food intake associated with a famous diet pill and intensive exercise. The truth is somewhere in the middle. If you want to achieve weight loss, then you have to reduce the calories intake, exercise plenty and add some of those diet pills to increase the efficiency of the diet. But you never want to exaggerate and most importantly, you should never stress your body too much. Stay away from those diet tips that force you to become an anorexic and do what’s right, what’s healthy.

Successful diet tips always start with the way you eat, the quantity and quality of what you eat. For many people, the weight problems start by eating too much and not necessarily healthy. Learning all about the right eating habits is essential. It ensures a smooth performance of your organism and regular burning of excessive fat. The concept of weight loss is not something that can be achieved overnight. It will take some times before noticeable results appear and you have to discipline yourself in order to maintain the positive effects of the diet. Choose a diet that is rich in fibers, vitamins and not in fats or carbohydrates. Be sure to drink a lot of water and get rid of drinks high in glucose as they contain way too much calories.

Obesity is one of the major risk factors for heart disease and cerebrovascular attacks. As more and more people suffer from this condition, scientists and medical specialists work side by side trying to find more effective methods to promote weight loss. They state categorically the importance of eating healthy and avoiding harmful food, adding physical exercise at the top of the list. As for the weight loss pill, many studies have been made and some of the research results are truly encouraging. Dietary supplements are known to act as appetite suppressants, having effects on the metabolism and preventing fatty deposits from forming. The diet pill can have different results from one individual to another. It is especially effective when associated with the right diet and regular exercise.  Under no circumstances should it be taken in higher doses than prescribed and it is not recommended for those who suffer from high blood pressure or diabetes.

The reality is that there are no miraculous solutions for weight loss. It is still up to us to succeed, on our desire to be healthy and decrease the risk factors associated with obesity. In order to make informed diet choices, we need to learn about all weight loss alternatives, follow proper dietary recommendations and establish an exercise routine and stick to it. Most experts agree that losing weight quickly is not healthy as it is a step by step process and they are not wrong. It is important to start with light exercises (wiping the dust counts!), reduce your daily calories intake and choose a diet supplement that fits your needs. It takes courage and persistence to achieve weight loss and you should congratulate yourself for every step you have mastered!

In this article I am going to get back to basics. I am going to show your three muscle building exercises you can’t afford not to do and why you should be doing them. These three exercises are the grass roots of building muscle and are essential for any serious training program.

You might find it hard to believe, but with these three exercises alone you can pack on a serious amount of muscle. I refer to these exercises as the “core” to any good program. When I start planning I muscle building program for a client I always start with these three basic exercises and build the program around them.

3 core muscle building exercises:

Squat
The squat is the biggest exercise for packing on serious poundage. There’s no argument about it. The squat is primarily a leg building exercise. You start the exercise with a barbell resting across your shoulders standing straight up. Then bending at the knees and hips you lower the barbell down until your thighs are almost parallel to the floor. And then push the barbell back to the starting position.

The main muscle groups pulled into action for the squat are your quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes. Secondary muscle groups include the lower back, adductors and to a certain extent your shoulder muscles. As you can see many muscle groups are recruited for this exercise making it the biggest exercise and biggest potential muscle builder.

Like all the core muscle building exercises, you should make the squat the first exercise you do on your leg training day. Because it’s the biggest exercise you want your legs to be fresh and ready. If muscle building is your goal, aim for about 8-12 reps on the squat. Because you’ll be lifting heavy weights a good warm up is vital. Squatting is very stressful for the lower body, especially the knees, so 5-10 minutes on the treadmill and some lights squats first up are recommended.

Bench Press
The bench pres is the king of upper body building exercises. For years the bench press has been used to measure a lifter’s strength. How many times have you been asked “how much do you bench?” I bet you’ve never been asked how much do you squat or how many chin ups can you do.

The bench is a simple yet extremely powerful exercise that targets the entire chest (pectorals), front shoulders (deltoids) and triceps. To perform a bench press you must lie on your back on a flat bench, grip the barbell at slightly wider than shoulder grip and press the bar straight down to your chest.

The bench press is the biggest upper body builder because it allows you to move the most amount of weight possible. This is its advantage over the dumbbell press. With the help of a spotter you can also push yourself to lift heavier weights. There are also other advanced bench press techniques like board presses, bench press negatives and chain presses. See our link at the bottom for more details.

Wide grip Chin Up
If you were only going to do one exercise to work your back this would be it. The wide grip chin up is the ultimate test of a lifters power to weight ratio. This muscle building exercise is very demanding on the body.

The wide grip chin up primarily hits the lats, but also targets the entire upper back, biceps and forearms. To execute this exercise you need a chin up bar or assisted chin up machine. Hold the bar in a wide grip (greater than shoulder width) with your palms facing away from your body. Start in a “hanging” position with your arms fully extended. Pull yourself up until your can get your chin over the bar and lower back to starting position.

Most people will not be able to do wide grip chin ups without some lat/back training first. You can use the assisted chin up machine or lat pull down machine to strengthen your lats before attempting wide grip chin ups. This is the most demanding back exercise you can do so it must be the first exercise in your session.

When you should be doing these exercises

Like I mentioned previously in this article, these exercises are the biggest muscle builders and also the most taxing on your body so they must be done at the beginning of your workout to get the maximum benefits. I recommend that you do up to 5 sets on each exercise and vary the way you perform these sets each week. For example, the first week you do pyramid up sets, the second week you pyramid down and the third week you do straight sets. This keeps your muscles from getting accustomed to your routine. Good luck packing on some serious pounds!

Visualization is a powerful technique that can help you make lasting lifestyle changes. Just by “day dreaming”, you can significantly improve your chances in achieving your goals.

Visualization is a great weight loss tool and its as simple as visualizing your body as you want your body to look like. This mental image of yourself is then transferred to your subconscious mind, which in turn starts to work on your body, shaping it in accordance with your mental image thus reducing your weight.

This means that if you program your subconscious with a mental image of yourself as a slimmer person, through persistence your mind will accept this and aid your body to conform to this mental image.

Once your mind is programmed with the proper mental images, it will start to work in assisting you to losing weight.  I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to believe in your visualization goals.  You have to let go of past dieting failures and refuse to entertain any negative images that come into your mind.

If you can visualize your body at its perfect weight and proportions, the subconscious mind will work to make it become a reality. It will then begin to positively reinforce your body into aiding the metabolism and eating habits. Programming your mind into believing that you can lose weight, and to visualize yourself at your ideal weight is of the greatest importance.

Try to think of a different image of yourself, then let your subconscious do the work for you. If you think of your own body fat and being out of shape all the time, then the subconscious mind will find ways to make it so.

The subconscious looks after all of all your vital functions, it is the cause of all your good and bad habits, and also regulates muscle (the muscles are controlled by the subconscious) and body-fat composition on the body, and the latter is the one we are most interested in.

So please try to visualize your body as lean as you would like, and your mind will work on that image. The mind can be a great partner in losing weight.

Getting Rid of Bad Nutritional Habits

A bad habit is like second nature and is acquired over a long period of time. Bad habits are programmed into the subconscious and “will power” alone will not get rid of it.  Many try using all sorts of different ways to break it but without success.

Obesity is the result of bad nutritional habits and some of the causes are boredom, stress, tension and different complexes. Food becomes the substitution for these causes and before too long, obesity sets in. Most people become concerned that they’re obese, eat more and a vicious cycle is established.

The only way for lasting permanent weight loss is to break these bad habits and replace them with positive new ones, and the only way to do this is with visualization. Visualization puts you in charge of your subconscious where all these bad programs are stored.

All the will power in the world is not going to break these bad habits unless one has the help of their subconscious.

Relaxation

Relaxation the best way to reach the sub-conscious and will slow down the mind, turn off the exterior world so as to tune in to one’s inner self. The best times for these sessions are in the morning and late at night right, just before going to sleep.

Try performing two sessions, one in the afternoon (primary) and the other before going to sleep (secondary) but once a day is quite sufficient. Sessions usually last 20 minutes, which isn’t time consuming especially when taking in the benefits received.

It has been stated that one of these sessions is equivalent to 2 hours of deep sleep and upon waking you will feel revitalized and full of energy. Believe me instead of worrying about time constraints; you will be looking forward to the next session.

When you begin your relaxation sessions, make sure you won’t be disturbed – lock the door, take the phone off the hook and loosen all clothing. Now find a comfortable position, whether it is lying down or sitting in a comfortable chair.

Sitting may be preferable as you may fall asleep if you become too comfortable. You want to be conscious and not asleep in order to tap into your sub-conscious mind.

Try to exhale all the air from your lungs completely and then breathing in through the nose.  Take ten seconds to fill the lungs with air (not to capacity, but comfortable) hold for ten seconds and then exhale slowly through the nose for another ten seconds.

Each one of these breathing cycles should last for 30 seconds, complete five cycles and after each cycle you will be feeling more and more relaxed.

If you are sitting, open your eyes and look straight ahead.  If you are lying down, open your eyes and stare at the ceiling. After a few minutes, slowly close your eyes.

Having reaching this calm relaxed state start your visualizations.  Put together images that power your emotions. Make them alive and colourful. Make the scenes as real as possible and imagine yourself as slim and toned the way you will look after successful weight loss.

Picture yourself ten weeks from now on the beach, walking briskly and confidently to your favourite spot, your breathing is normal and relaxed. You smile to yourself; you could keep walking like this for miles without feeling fatigued.

You lay your towel out and begin to take your clothes off revealing a firm, toned, well conditioned body. You have just bought a brand new swimming suit which just weeks before would have been lying in your closet waiting to be used.

Glancing around you notice the beach is busy, you catch the eye of someone of the opposite sex, they smile at you and you smile back. You walk confidently to the water and swim a couple of hundred yards with no problem or fatigue.

Or try this:

Visualize your family and friends complimenting you about how good your body looks and how slim you look. Try to view the scene as it is happening this instant – in the present, not in the future.

Using these visualizations you can construct in your mind any scene that desire. See yourself exercising, socializing, in the company of friends. Try and hear people complimenting you about your slim new body, and watch their admiring glances. Make the mental image as real as possible.

 Remember set a goal for your ideal weight

 You must want to lose weight

 Visualize yourself at your ideal weight

 Use positive images at every opportunity

Practice these sessions on a daily basis and over a period of ten weeks you’ll be on your way to become more fulfilled, happier and leaner

One of the best ways to change your diet is to change to an organic one. It is good to increase the fiber in your diet, which will clean out your colon of all negative weight loss inhibitors. This means that instead of eating refined or processed foods, you should eat whole grain foods like brown rice and whole wheat bread. This has more fiber and less bad fats such as trans fat and cholesterol.

You should also increase your input of protein, minerals and vitamins. To do this it is good to eat more fruits and vegetables and substitute red meat for fish and chicken. These meats have less calories and fat and still provide more protein.

One of the most important parts of changing your diet is to completely eliminate junk food. This will include candy, chips, popcorn, ice cream, milk shakes and soda. You can substitute fruits and vegetable snacks instead. Instead of sodas you can drink water or dilute juice with water for flavor. You will find this makes a huge difference in your sugar and fat intake.

You will feel healthier and have more energy when you change your diet. At first you may feel a little different with the extra fiber and complete change in food but this will soon pass and your body will work better and more efficiently. You will have more energy and feel like an entirely new, better person.

Keeping fit does not just depend on exercises, diet also plays an important part in improving your. Remember that looking after your health and staying fit is an investment in yourself and something you should not neglect or you will find that you will regret poor health habits later. Diet is one part of staying fit that does not take any time and you will reap the benefits throughout your life once you get into a good habit. With these few points you can make huge strides towards staying fit and healthy and being able to do the things you want to do.

However, there are numerous sports which are rather spectacular, but practicing them exposes the sportsmen to particular risks. Such kind of problems can appear even in the sports for amateurs; there is, of course, specific pathology for every sport. Since the body is prone to different health problems, a factor which can provoke them is the volume and intensity of training. Long distance running and jogging are extremely popular forms of training.A frequent health problem in tennis is epycondylitis or ‘the tennis player’s elbow’. Weightlifting can lead to varicous veins or high blood pressure.

Fitness tries to make every exercise useful for health and body esthetics. The type of training that is recommended is the complex one, including aerobic and anaerobic exercises.

While doing aerobic exercises, the body satisfies its need of oxygen during effort. We are talking here about all types of resistance efforts, like long distance running, ski, rowing, fast walking, swimming, cycling, speed skating, etc. The consequences of these efforts are visible, first of all, at a cardiovascular and pulmonary level. This type of exercises are the most effective in burning calories and this is why they can easily burn fat tissue, as long as they last more than 40-45 minutes without stopping. The energetic support of these efforts comes from the fat acids which are mobilized from the adipose tissue.

The efforts of anaerobic type are responsible for increasing force and muscular mass and for bone resistance. During this type of short and intensive effort the body cannot satisfy the need of oxygen. What happens is the so-called ‘oxygen duty’, recovered in the breaks between the efforts. The most typical example is the break between two series of exercises meant to work the same muscle.

The effectiveness of fitness trainings is closely related to their weekly practice. There are a minimum number of trainings necessary for visible effects.

For the programs of anaerobic type (force) the experts say that two trainings a week are necessary, each of 30-45 minutes. During these sessions, the whole body is trained every time.

In the case of aerobic training (resistance), their weekly frequency must be increased to three, each between 20 and 60 minutes.

Both types of training must be continued uninterruptedly for at least two or three months. After this period, a one-week active break is recommended. In this time the person must make lighter efforts like walking and gymnastics, the purpose being now recovery and relaxation.

Starting from this minimum frequency, any supplementary training will make progress come sooner, as long as you avoid over-training or over-exerting. Deciding the optimum number of trainings, their volume and intensity depends a lot on the particularities and the possibilities of the person who practices the sport.

How do you lose weight and keep it off without extreme measures? Here are some tips:

• Understand your motivation to eat. Many times stress, fatigue and dehydration are disguised as hunger pangs. Ask yourself if you are overwhelmed, thirsty, bored or truly hungry before reaching for a snack.
• Plan your meals. You don’t have to map out an entire menu, but think about what you can eat for lunch and dinner beforehand, so that you aren’t grabbing something on the go because you’re hungry and it’s time to eat. Cook meals ahead of time to have on hand at the end of a long workday.
• Keep your immune system strong. When dieting, it’s important to keep your immune system healthy by providing your body with essential nutrients. A health drink called NuVim is a new product that helps maintain a healthy immune system, according to its manufacturer. Tested and proven effective in 19 clinical studies, NuVim also helps with muscle flexibility and athletic performance. The drink contains the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E, along with B-12, zinc, calcium and essential amino acids.
• Find subtle ways to cut calories. For instance, switch from drinking 2 percent milk to skim, or let diet soda or unsweetened tea take the place of regular soda. Low-fat and low-sugar versions of condiments like cream cheese, butter, dressing and jam also make a difference without sacrificing taste.
• Exercise as much as you can. Few people are able to lose weight and keep it off without exercise. While it may seem impossible to fit yet one more thing into an already time-starved calendar, exercising for at least 30 minutes three to four days a week is a must. Working up to an hour, four to five days a week, should be a goal.

a.) Excellent calorie burn. (Typically 400 calories an hour for an exercise bike, 700-800 for a road bike, and 1000 for a spinning bike.)

b.) Superior cardiovascular conditioning. Cycling builds stamina and increases endurance while lower resting heart rate. Generally individuals who cycle regularly have a resting heart rate in the mid to low 60s.

c.) Lower body toning. Cycling is especially good to build leg muscles and for women, whose problem areas are often the hips and thighs, the slimming effect can be almost magical.

Many people prefer to cycle outdoors because there’s really nothing to replace the freedom and adventure to be had exploring under your own foot power.

1.) A comfortable saddle appropriate to the rider’s gender.
2.) A rack to carry a water bottle. (Drinking water is recommended every 20 minutes during a lengthy ride.)
3.) A ride computer that registers speed and distance traveled.
4.) Gears to assist with handling terrain.
5.) Appropriate illumination via reflectors and/or lights.
6.) Safety helmet.

These items represent the bare minimum for safe and effective operation. A ride computer is especially important as cycling is, generally speaking, an exercise in which the rider competes against himself for better speed and longer distances traveled.

Using a Heart Monitor

Where weight loss is the goal, it is also recommended that the cyclist use a heart monitor which includes a chest strap and a wrist unit that measures duration of exercise, time in “the zone” (your target heart rate to accomplish fat burning), average and maximum heart rate, and calories burned. One pound equals 3500 calories. If you manage a 500 calorie deficit (burn or expend more than you consume) you’ll lose approximately one pound per week.

Indoor Cycling

For individuals who do not like to be out in the elements, an exercise bike can be a comfortable way to cycle daily in the comfort of your own home. Many riders watch television while they pedal and cycling DVDs are available to create the illusion that you are traveling through the hills of the California wine country or perhaps the French countryside. Recumbent exercise bikes with their bucket seats are especially comfortable. For some riders, the different angle at which the recumbent bike places the body is even more effective for body slimming and overall the position is easier for the back and the backside.

Spinning Bikes for Indoor Cycling

Spinning bikes are a special class of exercise bikes that have weighted flywheels to simulate, as closely as is possible, the feel of riding a road bike indoors. Generally, spinning is done at a gym in a class environment or, if done at home, to directions from a DVD. The workout involves “intervals” of intense riding where the cyclist is standing in the pedals and working at maximum output balanced by seated periods of a lesser cadence. Spinning is hardcore exercise with maximum calorie burn. If you have not been working out, it’s best to get moderately in shape and to check with your physician before beginning a spinning program.

When to Cycle?

Almost any time of day is appropriate for cycling. Depending on the climate in your area, it may be best to ride in the morning or evening when temperatures are cooler. Some fitness experts recommend riding first thing in the morning before eating to stimulate the metabolism, while others suggest “fueling up” first. If you have trouble sleeping, avoid cycling just before bedtime as the stimulation will contribute to your insomnia. Regardless of when or where you choose to cycle, keep track of the numbers so you can monitor your improvement and work out at a pace and duration that will show effective results.

Benefits of Cycling

As an aerobic, fat burning exercise, cycling offers multiple health benefits. Upright exercise bikes can be purchase for as little as $150 while a recumbent will run from $300 to $600. These devices allow you to exercise regardless of the weather while road bikes get you out and about exploring and having fun while you get in shape. Spinning bikes can cost as much as $1500, so that’s an activity that will most likely send you to the gym. Regardless of the type of cycling you choose, you’ll begin to see results in a month or less, putting you well on the road to those lovely words — long and lean.

In an earlier article I outlined the ways in which you can intensify your training. Here we’ll focus on the role that forced repetitions have to play in intensifying the training effect.

When you reach the point of muscular failure it is impossible to manage one more complete repetition of any exercise, at least not without losing form or correct technique. There is, however, one way in which you can increase the intensity even further and that is by completing one or more forced repetitions with the help of an experienced training partner.

The best way to achieve this is by keeping the same weights on the bar and have your training partner do no more than is necessary to allow you to complete up the three extra repetitions with good lifting form.

Beginning bodybuilders should avoid forced reps until they have learned good lifting techniques and have prepared their muscles for the stresses involved in this particular approach. Intermediate lifters should consider adding forced reps to one exercise in the pre-exhaust sequence. Advanced bodybuilders can utilize forced reps based on their own needs and judgement.

One of the most important factors you must consider when contemplating any diet plan is whether you will learn how to eat healthy and nutritionally sound through the plan. Unfortunately, a number of different diets that boast incredible results do so through nutritionally bankrupt methods. Often referred to as fad diets, these weight loss programs encourage you to indulge in eating habits that can do more harm than good.

Many weight loss programs promise almost instantaneous results and for awhile at least; it seems as though your weight loss dreams may have finally come true through the presence of this type of diet. Then the sad reality sets in. You realize there is no possible way you can stay on this diet for the rest of your life. This is an important factor to consider; because ideally you should be looking for a healthy weight loss and maintenance program not a diet. Although a very low-calorie, high or liquid diet or even a diet that only lasts for a few days may allow you to initially lose some weight, you will inevitably find that your weight loss problems recur when a vengeance at a later point. Instead of looking for a miracle cure, look for a weight loss program that can help you to achieve your goals on a permanent basis.

For those of us who would prefer to avoid exercise like the plague, any weight loss program that promises we can reach our goals without that dreaded E word is a lifesaver. Unfortunately, long term weight loss simply isn’t possible without taking part in a sensible exercise routine. Sad, but true.

When considering engaging in any weight loss program or diet, always ask yourself the following questions 1. Will I learn to take part in a healthy, nutritionally sound eating plan through this diet? 2. Is this a diet I can stick with long term? and 3. Does this diet combine sensible eating with moderate exercise?

When you find a diet or weight loss program that meets all of these conditions, you know that you have found the right diet for you. As with any diet, it’s always a good idea to check with your physician before engaging in any weight loss program.