Another great way to get motivated!

Training can sometimes get dull and repititious. Especially if we aren't seeing the gains that we are hoping for. This makes it hard to keep exercise motivation levels where they need to be so that we continue to make it to the gym to train.

Whenever I feel like I am stuck in a rut I switch to the routine outlined in this article for a few weeks. The article describes a typical routine that Arnold Schwarzenegger's utilized throughout his career. It is difficult and tiresome but it does help me get the blood pumping again and ignites that hunger that we need to keep intensity levels high. Working out like Arnold will help you feel like Arnold and this routine will certainly kickstart gains. Good Luck.

Melting Away the Holiday Pounds

Christmas and New Years have past and it is time to get serious about getting that ripped toned hard body. But if you are like most of us, you ate and drank a little more than you should over the holiday season and might be carrying around a few extra pounds. You also might have taken some time off from the gym and are lacking exercise motivation. Here are some quick and easy tips for getting back into the gym and for removing that holiday fat.

1. Watch a good bodybuilding video like Pumping Iron. Seeing images of the physique that you crave will get you motivated to get back into the gym.

2. Stay alert. Taking a product like ENERFIT will help fight off lazy attitudes that may prevent you from diving back into your routines.

3. Increase volume and intensity. Increase the repetition range and decrease the rest periods between sets. You will burn far more calories this way. You will need to use less weight then usual but that is ok. At this stage we aren't trying to pack on mass. We are trying to get lean again.

4. Eat less more often. Cut calories and eat 6-8 times a day. During the holidays we tend to eat large serving sizes and then rest for long periods of time slowing down the metabolism. We need to ignite the metabolism and eating small meals more often is one of the best ways to do this.

5. Get a good fat burner. Again , ENERFIT is what I recommend.

6. Drink lots of water. This will help you flush your system and combined with the increase in training volume and the fat burner, it will help you shed water weight.

7. Cut carbs. Try cutting carbs in half for a week or two. For example, if you eat a hamburger, only eat one half of the bun. Cutting your carbs will help you burn body fat during exercise as well as during rest.

Use these 7 tips and you will be ripped in no time. Spring is only a few months away so you want to start now.

Great Shoulder Routine

Check out this shoulder routine video from The Fit Show at bodybuilding.com. It discusses some of the principles that I preach time and time again. "It is not about the weight"..."stimulate the muscle". You can see that he isn't using much weight in this video but he is still ripped. I have started using this routine (although I have made a couple of variations) and have seen good results.

Note- Once you click the link, you have to scroll down through the videos and click on TFS 51.

Advanced Training Techniques

Check out this great article on Advanced Training Techniques from www.muscleandstrength.com. It covers many of the ones I have discussed plus some others (See Ten Second Training and Stripping!). You can work many of these into your routine on the last set of your 'short rest' routine.

6 Weeks to a More Vascular, Muscular, and Lean Body

As I have mentioned in previous posts, it is a good idea to change up your routine every now and then to keep your body guessing and forcing it to make adjustments which will lead to more muscle growth. I have also talked repeatedly about how important intensity is in any routine if you want real results. Well, I have once again proven these concepts to be true in my own life over the past 6 weeks and I wanted to share with you what has worked so well for me.

Simply stated I have been using a routine that involves very low rest times between sets ( I mean very low), low weight, and strict form, and squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.

This method of training is quite different from my usual training routine which consists of heavier weight where I can push out 6-10 reps and increasing the weight each set with rest times between sets of 1-2 minutes. Using this type of training I had put on some muscle weight, but it wasn't the high quality,- lean - hard muscle I was looking for. I was bigger, but losing definition and "shape" in the muscles. So I knew I needed to change things up.

I HIGHLY suggest you try low rest - low weight - strict form training for 6 weeks. You will be amazed at the difference it makes in your physique. You will be leaner, more vascular, and look more muscular. You will be leaner because you will be burning a lot more calories in the gym then normal (providing you keep the same diet) while at the same time pushing excess water out of the body (providing you stay hydrated).

Here is a run down of a typical training day for me using this philosophy. The objective is to pump as much blood into the muscle as possible so that you can feel the muscle working. It will hurt a little and you will sweat A LOT.

Chest - Biceps

Chest

Exercise 1

Dumbbell Bench Press

- I like to start with dumbbell bench press because it is a great weigh to pump blood into your pecs at the beginning of your routine. While I normally start of with 80 pound dumbbells and work my way up to 100, I only use 60 to 70 lbs dumbbells for this routine and keep the same weight throughout the entire exercise. It will take you a few workouts to figure out the correct weight to use. Put the ego aside and don't be afraid to move down the rack to lighter weights. You will be surprised at how heavy the become by your 3 or 4th set.

Sets = 4-5 - 12 Reps

Strict Form - Go slow, controlled, and deep on the decent and power up on the press but don't lock out your arms. Keep the tension on the pecs. You want to try buildup some lactic acid in the muscle to create that pump. After 12 reps don't drop the weight, rather rest them on your thighs in a seated position for a period of 10-20 seconds no more. Just count in your head then right back down for 12 more reps. Do this again for 2 or 3 more sets. If you find that by the 2nd or 3rd set you can't get 12 reps then you are using too much weight. Take a mental note for next time and increase your rest period a few more second so that you can complete them this time.

Exercise 2

Incline Bench Press Smith Machine

- Again, I use low weight. Smith machine is great because you don't have to worry about a spotter.

Sets 4-5 10 Reps.

Again, form. Slow, controlled, and deep on the decent -contract and power through the press.

10-20 seconds rest in between sets. Remember to take deep controlled breathes both during and after movements.

Exercise 3

Decline Bench Press - Smith Machine

Same thing- 4-5 sets 10 reps

Exercise 4

Dumbbell Fly

- You should have an incredible pump and the dumbbell fly will really help you carve out that muscle at the end of the chest routine. Can't stress it enough...STRICT FORM. Use your chest and only your chest to bring the dumbbells together. Stop when they are about a foot apart which will keep constant tension on the pecs.

When I am completed with the Chest portion of my routine I am covered in sweat and take a few minutes to rest and prepare for hitting biceps. When I feel I am ready I go about it like this...

Biceps

Exercise 1

Barbell Curls

- Strict Form. Elbows back and against your side. Squeeze the biceps at the top of each rep.

Sets 4-5 Reps 10

Same rest times. 10-20 seconds will give you just enough times to drop the weight, take a few deep breathes and the start again.

Remember - If you find you are tiring out to quickly. DROP THE WEIGHT. It is more important in this routine to reach the set number of reps, pushing maximum blood flow as opposed to the amount of weight you use.

Exercise 2

Alternating Dumbbell Preacher curls

Sets 4-5 Reps 10

Exercise 3

Dumbbell hammer curls

- I don't alternate during this exercise except maybe for a few reps on the last set.

THAT'S IT. I assure you if you stick to this type of training for 6 weeks you will notice dramatic improvements in your physique.

Here are some additional tips to get the most out of the 6 weeks.

1. DIET - Make sure you are getting ample amounts of protein. YOU WILL NEED IT. Aim for 1-2 grams per pound of body weight daily. In addition to protein, use creatine to supplement the muscles.

2. GET A GOOD FAT BURNER - I use ENERFIT of course and have no doubt that you will love the fat burning benefits it can produce during a workout like this.

3. GET LOTS OF REST - At least 7-8 hours a day.

4. DRINK LOTS OF WATER - You will need to keep hydrated especially before a high intensity training session like these. Aim for a gallon of water per a day.

5. FLEX - During and after your workout. This will help keep blood flow in the muscles and will give you greater control over the muscles during your workouts.

I would love to hear response from some of you that try this to see what type of results you achieve. Good luck!

Most Common Workout Mistakes

Today was one of those days that I couldn't help but people watch while I was in the gym. What I usually notice the most when I do this (besides the gym hottie in her tube top and skin tight pants) is the poor and sometimes silly looking workout routines and techniques guys (and some girls) use in the gym. I thought I would make a list of some common mistakes I see being made in the gym so that you can make sure you aren't making them. Each of these will certainly put a hamper on building a hard body.

1. USING TOO MUCH WEIGHT - Guys want to feel macho in the gym so they load up the bar with more weight then then can handle correctly. These guys easy to spot in the gym. They can be seen lifting their but in the air and bouncing the bar off of their chest during a bench press (very dangerous) or performing a squat by lowering the weight to where their quads are only at 45% as opposed to 90%. They swing violently during bicep curls and a seated dumbbell shoulder press looks more like an incline bench press. Bodybuilding is about stimulating the muscle not building brute strength. Make sure that you use a weight that you can perform with strict form for 8-12 reps each set so that you can really work the target muscle fibers. It doesn't take much weight to do this if you are really focusing on working the muscle not lifting the weight.

2. USING THE SAME ROUTINE OVER AND OVER - You need to continuously change your routine and the types of exercises you do if you want to build a body that looks toned and muscular. Using different exercises will stimulate different muscle fibers for a more rounded physique.

3. NOT GOING TO FAILURE - If you aren't exercising the muscle to failure you aren't going to get the results you are looking for. You have to push your muscles beyond what they are normally capable of. Make sure that on the last set of each exercise, you really push yourself. If you are going for 8 reps and finish 8, try and get a 9th or 10th rep. Ask someone around the gym to spot you for safety on heavy compound lifts. You can also use drop sets, rest pause, and other techniques to achieve failure. See previous posts for examples.

4. TOO FEW OR TOO MANY REPS - Remember, you are trying to build muscle and get tone not become a power lifter. Shoot for a rep range of 8-12 reps per set for compound movements and 10-15 per set for single joint exercises. If you can't get 8 reps let go of the ego and drop the weight.

5. NOT ENOUGH REST - This is probably one of the worst mistakes you can make. I see guys in the gym all the time workout their chest one day only to come in the next day and hit the bench press again. In bodybuilding less is sometimes more. You need to give your body adequate resting time before you work a fatigued muscle again. Shoot for a minimum of 48 hours before working the same body part again.

Muscles don't push...They pull.

When I am working out and doing certain exercises, I am asked many times "What's that exercise do?" meaning "What muscles are you working there?". Or I might get approached by someone who is dissatisfied with a certain body part of theirs and want to know what exercises they can do to work it into shape. I tell rookie gym goers and weight trainers the same thing..."Muscles don't push, they can only pull". You will sometimes get a perplexed look when you tell someone that, especially if they just finished doing a few reps of bench "press".

What I am trying to accomplish by using the statement "Muscles don't push, they can only pull", is to get the individual thinking about how a muscle actually works. Without getting to scientific, when you are performing any exercise, even a bench press, your muscles contract and pull the bones they are connected two together or apart during the movement. During a bench press, your chest contracts and pulls your arms together (aided by other muscles such as the triceps and deltoids) enabling you to raise the weight in a pushing motion. If you are doing a tricep extension, your tricep contracts and pulls on your forearm in enabling you to extend your arm with the weight.

So the next time you are in the gym and are performing an exercise, try and mentally solve the puzzle of what muscles need to be activated to accomplish the movement. Once you have a good grasp of how your body works it is much easier to perform exercises with greater intensity and focus resulting in more toned, hard, dense muscle.

Photo courtesy of www.muscleandstrength.com