I get asked often how hard you should be working out when you are working out. The simple answer for me is workout as hard as you can for as long as you can.

Lets go into some detail.

Lets take doing weights for an example. I start my workout with a focus and goal of what I want to have happen. I want my weight workout to end with nothing left so I structure my workout this way. As I have mentioned before, lately I have been doing three sets per exercise and one exercise per muscle group. I will do the first set knowing that I will be stretched out and tired at the end of each set. I do 12 reps and finish probably having gone to about 70% of my possible set.

On the next two sets of my exercise I go to 100% of my possible set. I try to make sure that these sets push my body as far as I can. To get more out of the set than normally possible I will use a weight that will only allow me to do 6 reps. After I have done these reps I will drop the weight by 10 pounds or so and immediately get another couple of reps out. I will finally drop the weight another 20 pounds and get another couple of reps out. At this point I have nothing left. Read the rest of this entry »

Building muscle is done primarily though confusing your muscles into growth. When you keep changing your sets, weights, exercises then your muscle grow to accommodate the changing stress of the workout.

One of my favorite ways to train the upper-body is using push-pull super-sets. Not only am I getting a complete upper-body work, but I’m saving a ton of time and maximizing my “training economy”.

But these aren’t your typical universal machine super-sets! Too many people get stuck in their training and perform the same movements week after week, and wonder why they’re not making progress or why they start to HATE going to the gym. Strength training doesn’t have to be boring, and once you start incorporating a variety of movements, your sessions not only become more productive, but you’ll actually start having FUN again and feel like you did when you bought your first barbell set.

With these super-sets, you are going to perform your upper-body pushing movement and then immediately work your upper-body pulling movement. Rest only after both movements have been completed. Read the rest of this entry »

Health magazine has these quick tips to help you get motivated to run a race. I know that it has been a goal of mine to run a 10k for a long time but pushing through that tough training and having my body heal between workouts is the tough part.

Need help in the motivation department? Sign up for a 5K or 10K. Suddenly, your exercise routine becomes “training” and every workout has a purpose. Plus, your competitive spirit is bound to keep you fired up and help you push past what you thought was impossible. Here’s how to ace the race.

Find your ideal race. If you usually do 1- to 2-mile runs, try a 5K (just over 3 miles). If you can comfortably do 3 to 4 miles, go for a 10K (a little more than 6 miles). Find a race online at Active.com or by checking with a local running store (expect to pay around $25 to enter). Leave plenty of time to train; 8 to 10 weeks is ideal. Then tell everyone about it—better yet, ask them to join you. Read the rest of this entry »

High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a great way to both improve performance and to also lose weight quickly. HIIT is a different way of doing cardio with just a couple of rules to remember:

First, your running session should only be 15-30 minutes.

Secondly, sessions should have a 2:1 ratio in terms of time. so a session may be something as 60 seconds jog, 30 seconds sprint alternating

An example of a HIIT session may be as follows: Begin with a five minute warm up jog at about a medium intensity followed by a couple of minutes of stretching. Then start with a jog at about medium intensity for 60 seconds and then sprint hard for 30 to 60  seconds. Keep alternating this for 20 minutes or so and then at the end you can do some lower level jogging for 5 minutes as a cooldown.

This kind of workout is very difficult, especially the first few times that you try it and so it would be a good idea to only do it every second day and gauge how you are recovering from the workouts.

There have been a lot of studies on the high intensity interval training over the last few years and they seem to show that this is a very effective method for improving fitness as well as a nice change from regular running and workouts. One of the most important reasons that High intensity interval training works is because when you stress your body at the highest level you will burn a lot more fat then when running at a lower level jog.

Some proponents of HIIT say that to drop weight faster you would want to do this training on an empty stomach and I would have to agree with that. The idea is that since your body has no available calories to burn that it would replace muscle glycogen by burning fat. I would love to see more studies on this since it seems to make sense but there is not much evidence of it except for people saying that it seems to work.

Recently it has been shown that two weeks of HIIT can substantially improve insulin action in young healthy men. HIIT may therefore represent a viable method for prevention of type-2 diabetes.

Workouts would have bored everybody if they had tried to do it alone. Have you ever noticed the difference between walking alone and walking with your buddy? In the first instance, you get fatigued too quickly while in the latter case, you don’t even feel like you are walking (in both cases however, you walked the same distance). Well, the same is true for workouts as well. Having a fitness buddy by your side could make a huge difference to your fitness level.

If you don’t believe me, imagine this scenario:

You are sitting on your couch watching a cool comedy. You should have been working out at the gum at this time instead of watching that movie; however, the sun outside is so hot that you excuse yourself from your fitness regimen on that day.

Now, imagine another scenario:

You have got an exercise buddy who goes with you every day to the gym in order to workout together. One day, the sun outside is hot and you are watching a cool movie as before. Once again, you decide to take a break from your workout routine on that day. However, a little later, your cell phone starts ringing. It is your buddy’s call asking you whether you would be coming to the gym or not, because he has already left for it. Afraid of losing face to your friend, you switch off the TV and head for the gym in a trice, beating the hot sun.

Did you notice the difference between the two scenarios?

So many people complain about workouts getting more and more boring with every passing day, but hardly ever they realize that the solution to their problem is very simple and easy. Read the rest of this entry »

Joining a gym is probably the best thing you could do for your health. Sure, you could go the ’self-help’ way by picking up and doing random workouts, but you would go only so far with this ’self-help’ approach. A time will come when you would need guidance of an expert. Keep in mind that there is a reason why fitness trainers charge such astronomical amounts and are handsomely paid by their clients as well.

Having said that, gyms are not within everyone’s budget. Not many pockets could afford to join a premier gym, and the situation has worsened with the new tide of recession which is taking over the economy in a negative way. Plus, most gyms would make you sign a contract before you could get started, this to ensure that you don’t cancel your membership midway. As such, you should spend some good time on research before choosing the best gym for yourself and investing in it.

Let me tell you about the top three things you should consider before joining a gym.

Eligibility: You should join a gym only if you are interested in doing intense workouts such as weight training or interval training. If you are simply interested in cardiovascular exercises such as swimming, jogging, etc., you don’t need to join a gym. Read the rest of this entry »

Lots of people jump on the fitness bandwagon without even realizing what it could and couldn’t do for them, or what they should and shouldn’t expect from it. Usually they do it either out of peer pressure or for weight loss. Even before you start fitness training, you need to set your goals and expectations right or you are sure to be disappointed down the road.

The Why Part: First of all, ask yourself why you are so excited about fitness. What is it that you wish to achieve from it? To give you an idea, some people do it for weight loss as I already told you, while others do it simply to acquire a strong, well-toned muscular body. You may or may not be aware of it, but there are separate sets of exercises available for weight loss and muscle building. Read the rest of this entry »

These days, so many people pose as ’self-styled’ fitness gurus but few of them have any real qualification or experience in health and fitness. You should pick a fitness trainer who would guide you in the right direction and not the wrong one; a trainer who doesn’t guide you properly doesn’t do any good either to himself or you.

So how do you separate a professional from an amateur or charlatan? No idea is foolproof, but I hope the two tips below would save you a lot of frustration down the road.

Are they qualified enough: Don’t you check a doctor’s credentials before paying him his fees? Then why should it be any different with fitness trainers? You should thoroughly research the credentials of a fitness trainer before hiring him. While credentials are not always a good indicator of the results you could receive from the trainer (I know several highly qualified but horrible trainers), it is still a decent indicator of the trainer’s level of experience and education. Read the rest of this entry »

The fitness industry is replete with theories, some of which are facts while others are myths. You should separate the facts from myths to ensure that you reach your fitness goals quickly and easily. In the following article I will tell you about the top two fitness myths.

Weight loss pills would keep you fit: Different people consume diet pills and weight loss supplements for different reasons; some do it to lose weight while others take them to ensure that they never gain weight in the first place. In either case, if you are not doing anything else for fitness apart from consuming these pills and supplements, you are merely fooling yourself and wasting your money. Read the rest of this entry »

While it is true that exercises come with many benefits, not all of us are able to keep up with our regular workout routines, sometimes out of lack of time, and at other times out of plain lethargy. In this article I would offer you one workout idea which would virtually make fitness as easy as pie for you.

Introducing treadmill. Treadmills are one of the most popular home exercise equipments out there. It should be in the house of anyone who cares even a little bit about their health. Okay, I know that the treadmill needs no introduction, but are you aware of all its benefits? If not, then this article is for you.

Huge time saver: Many people cannot workout regularly because of lack of time. They have a job to handle as well as a family to look after. Add social pressure to the mix and you could get an idea of how much stressed and busy an individual could be these days. Read the rest of this entry »