5 Secrets To Help Get The Most Out Of Your HIIT Workout

 The HIIT workout works and everybody wants to get started with this program but not everyone is in the kind of physical shape that can handle such High intensity, not at first anyway. If you are considering adding this to your current workout schedule and you are not already in great condition the following advice can help you start the program without burning yourself out and becoming discouraged.

#01. 
Keep it slow. It is okay to start at a pace that is not as frantic as other people are. You can do 10-30 seconds of full on high intensity work alternating it with the same or more rest if you need it. it may take a bit of time to build your self up to the point that you can handle it for longer stretches of time. You could also start out with a full 30-40 seconds of work followed by 60-90 seconds of a less intense type of exercise.

#02. 
It is all about the amount of "excess post exercise oxygen consumption", which in weight training circles is simply referred to as EPOC. This is what makes the weight come off so quickly using the HIIT method. The action we are talking about here takes place after you have left the gym and begun to relax. While you are watching television or even while you are napping. The more intense the workout the longer the period of EPOC. The more you put in the more you get out. Go all in.

#03. 
It is important that there be a marked difference in the speed and intensity of the different intervals. The rest interval will make your body better able to sustain the level of intensity needed to get the great results possible with is form of training. You can slow down to a walk if it will help you get the energy back to get back into a very high intensity interval again.

#04. 
Intensity is about power not just speed. If you are using a treadmill and the resistance is low it will be easy to make those intervals but add an incline or other form of resistance and you have just upped the weigh loss ante. When you do this for a sustain period of time you will greatly improve the EPOC intervals of even your simple aerobics workout.

#05. 
If you are of the opinion that eating is wrong before you exercise then you don't know HIIT. Research proves that the level of intensity improves if you eat before your HIIT workout. The fact that you have more fuel to burn could have a lot to do with it. As you have found out the higher the intensity the longer the fat burning will continue after the workout.

These are just a few ideas to help you get the most out of your workouts. Remember easy does it when you first start this program and keep yourself fueled. One last thought is that in addition to fuel you need to also remain well hydrated.

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Here is a bicep workout for you that we found very useful!

 

Up Your Training Intensity With HIT

 Are you tired of your current workout routine? Does the thought of doing another chest workout this Monday kill your motivation? Have your muscle or strength gains stalled? If you answered yes to any of these questions, don't worry because you're not alone. The human body is a fickle beast that adapts to training without continual variation. If you're seeing diminished gains or need a change of pace, you should consider bumping up your intensity through the HIT method.

High Intensity Training (HIT) is a form of exercise that utilizes progressive resistance training by way of short, intense workouts that reach muscular failure. While there are many iterations of this style of training that have utilized this approach to building muscle and strength, such as DC Training, Dorian Yate's Blood and Guts system, and Mike Mentzer's HIT training, High Intensity Training was defined and popularized back in the 1970's by the founder of Nautilus, Arthur Jones.

Background:

Until Arthur Jones formulated his beliefs on muscle building, the common adage was to train with high volume made popular by fitness mogul Joe Weider. Employing Arnold Schwarzenegger as the face of bodybuilding through magazine publications and supplement/fitness equipment ads, high volume training was regarded as the superior training style. While not considered as "hardcore" as HIT, high volume training is arduous in its own right, consisting of hours, upon hours in the gym lifting with an incredible amount of volume, in order to induce muscular hypertrophy.

Jones saw a flaw in the high volume approach, as it didn't encourage progressive overloading of the muscle that he believed was necessary. After developing his program, known as the Nautilus Principles (Jones never actually named it HIT) he put his reputation and body on the line, creating the Colorado Experiment in 1973. Performed at Colorado State University, this study examined two subjects, Jones and professional bodybuilder Casey Viator, to test Jones' method and see how much muscle could be gained in under a month. Needless to say, the results were nothing short of astounding with Viator gaining 63lbs in 28 days and Jones gaining 15 in 22 days.

As incredible as these results sound, they should be taken with a grain of salt as Viator was coming off multiple injuries in which he lost substantial muscle he once had. Both men also strictly dieted for weeks leading up to the experiment to insure a perfect environment to gain weight. Regardless of any controversy or not being entirely "empirical, the experiment gave merit to Jones' claims.

The Training Philosophy:

High Intensity Training fundamentally relies on the less is more mentality because there is an inverse relationship between the amount of volume versus the intensity one can exert on a given exercise. While the high volume approach advises repeated stimulation of a muscle, Jones' HIT relies on overloading the muscle over a shorter period of time.

In a given exercise, HIT advocates recommend using the least amount of sets to achieve muscular failure, while performing each repetition in a slow and controlled motion. This all-out set hasn't been proven to be more effective than multiple sets in building more muscle or greater strength, but the theory behind only doing one set to absolute failure ensures that the workout be kept brief to limit any unnecessary movements that'll prolong the recovery period (remember that muscle is built during recovery workouts and not the actual workouts themselves).

To ensure maximum recovery to perform at one's best it's recommended to rest at least 48 hours in between workouts, while not going beyond 96 hours without training because risk of muscular atrophy increases. This works out to a three-day-a-week lifting schedule with four days of recovery. Jones argues that this schedule is beneficial not only for recovery, but also for preventing the body from becoming adjusted to a regular routine. This, along with added intensifiers, will guarantee continual progression.

The All-Out Set:

After reaching muscular failure on a lift, there are intensifiers than can be added to a set to overload the muscle even further. Say a person performs 10 repetitions on a bench press and cannot do an 11th. To add an intensifier to the set, one could perform a few more negatives (having a spotter pull the weight up during the concentric part of the movement and let you lower the weight to your chest yourself), partial reps (moving the bar from your chest to a few inches off of it, not performing a full repetition), or a drop set (after completing the ten reps, take off a certain amount of weight from the bar and instantly try to get another ten reps with the lowered weight). There are many more intensifiers that warrant their own article, but these are a few that can be added to take a muscle beyond failure.

Training Frequency:

With this style of training, frequency becomes one of the most important aspects of it. In a higher volume approach to strength training, it isn't uncommon to see people lifting anywhere from 4-6 days a week (even 7 for the crazies out there) for an hour to multiple hours at a time. If proper rest and nutrition are implemented, this isn't a big deal, as high volume training doesn't use as heavy of weights that tax the CNS system and require more rest.

When training with high volume and not using maximal effort in every set, muscular fatigue is an issue that requires rest to recover from but CNS fatigue is much less common. Often brought on by lifting too heavy, too often with inadequate rest times, CNS fatigue affects one's neurotransmitters, which send signals from the brain to the muscles. With compromised neurotransmitter function, one might feel constantly exhausted while being well-rested and have reduced cognitive abilities.

Because of the increased risk of CNS fatigue and injury, advocates of HIT believe that training should occur no more than three times a week, limiting an hour (at the absolute most) per workout. This will help ensure a proper amount of recovery time per workout and reduce the risk of injury or overtraining.

Risk and Controversy:

Arguably, these techniques this will elicit a greater increase in muscular strength and size since the body will be taken beyond muscular failure, while high volume training will not generate the intensity. This form of training has proven to be very effective, but it's also very hard on the body and requires far more precautions than a high volume training method. One's risk of injury will be reduced if proper warming up, impeccable form, and proper rest and nutrition aren't adhered to.

Sample Workouts:

With one of main principles of HIT being variation, there are is an abundance of ways to set up a workout routine that adheres to the HIT philosophies. Based off the recommended three-day-a-week schedule, workouts can be set up as a three full body workouts, an upper/lower body split (two upper, one lower), or a push/pull/leg split. Exercise choice can be tailored to fit the equipment available or to personal preference, but here's an example of a week using each routine:

Full Body:

Day One: 
1. Barbell Squat 
2. Bench Press 
3. Pullup/Chinup 
4. Stiff-Legged Deadlift 
5. Seated Shoulder Press 
6. Bicep Curl 
7. Triceps Extension

Day Two: 
1. Leg Press 
2. Bent-over Row 
3. Chest Press 
4. Lying Hamstring Curl 
5. Military Press 
6. Skull-Crushers 
7. Concentration Curls

Day Three: 
1. Deadlift 
2. Bench Press 
3. Low Cable Row 
4. Lunges 
5. Upright Row 
6. Dips 
7. Barbell Shrugs 
8. Preacher Curl

Upper/Lower Split:

Day One: 
1. Bench Press 
2. Bent-over Row 
3. Shoulder Press 
4. Pullup/Chinup 
5. Dip 
6. Barbell Curl

Day Two: 
1. Barbell Squat 
2. Stiff-legged Deadlift 
3. Leg Extension 
4. Lying Leg Curl 
5. Standing/Seated Calf Raise

Day Three: 
1. Incline Barbell Press 
2. Single Arm Dumbbell Row 
3. Dumbbell Pullover 
4. Upright Row 
5. Skull-Crushers 
6. Preacher Curls

Push/Pull/Leg Split:

Day One (Push): 
1. Bench Press 
2. Shoulder Press 
3. Incline Dumbbell Fly 
4. Dip 
5. Triceps Rope Extension

Day Two (Pull): 
1. Bent-over Row 
2. Lat Pulldown 
3. Low Cable Row 
4. Barbell Shrugs 
5. Hammer Curls

Day Three (Legs): 
1. Barbell Squats 
2. Stiff-legged Deadlifts 
3. Leg Extensions 
4. Lying Leg Curls 
5. Standing/Seated Calf Raise

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Poor Sleep Habits Cause PCOS Weight Gain

One of the best, or maybe worst, kept secrets about having success at losing weight and keeping it off, revolves around issues with sleep. Many people who have problems with their weight don't understand that the quality of sleep that they have directly affects their ability to lose weight and keep it off. Poor sleep can lead to continual relentless weight gain if it is something that's not addressed. This unfortunately really penalizes women with PCOS even further with their weight loss struggles.

If you look at sleep as a broad category, women struggle with it much more typically then men do throughout our respective lifetimes. For women it is also, as a general statement, harder to lose weight then it is for men. These two things together can make for a really deep seeded problem. If a woman with PCOS has sleep problems as well as weight loss issues, she has got to get her sleep straightened out or she is not going to have success with the weight loss.

Sleep is when the body resets, the mind restores, and the spirit and psyche resolve difficulties. For one who experiences poor sleep, her metabolism as well as her ability to burn calories as fuel is affected.

Sleep problems can really mess up your underlying metabolism and your ability to lose PCOS related weight. Your body resets every time you get a good night sleep, however, when you have had a lousy night's sleep you don't get this reset effect, your metabolism essentially slows down. When your metabolism slows down, your body becomes more and more efficient at storing calories as fat instead of burning the calories you eat as fuel for your daily activities and to fuel your brain. Your metabolism is most inefficient late at night, because this is when your body expects to be resting.

Many women report that the later they stay up, the more they crave foods, especially sweets in the late hours of the night. When women give in to these cravings and eat calories late in the day, they usually wind up being stored as fat because they are not being burned off with activity. This is a fast way to turbo charge weight gain.

Typically, once you are able to establish better sleep habits, such as going to bed at a regular time and getting a full night's sleep, the weight gain will stop. After about three to four weeks you'll notice your late-night cravings starting to disappear and most women will see their weight start to slowly go down. It's important to remember that you didn't put the weight on overnight, and it will take some discipline for it to start to come off and won't happen immediately.

If poor sleep is a fact of life for you as a person with PCOS issues, please know that you must find a solution to it as a part of regaining the ability to lose that PCOS related weight and to keep it off for good. Even if you are doing everything else right, and only your sleep is a disaster, it will sabotage your best efforts for weight loss.

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Gym Routines - What Mistakes Not To Make

What are some mistakes people make in their gym routines which end up costing them muscle growth and strength gains? By looking at what mistakes people make, you can see what you should be doing instead to build a beautifully muscular body.

1. Using Isolation Exercises instead of Compound lifts.

Thanks to the bodybuilding magazine industry, people are convinced that the best way to build muscle is to focus on isolating every single muscle group, and using countless exercise to train them.

This method doesn't work for a very simple reason. Muscle growth is the result of stimulating the most muscle fibres as possible. Isolation by its very nature stimulates very few.

Also, because you are required to spend so long in the gym with isolation, as apposed to compound gym routines, you typically go over the 1 hour deadline of exercise. Once you pass this time limit, the amount of testosterone in your body begins to drop. Because testosterone is so pivotal in muscle growth, you obviously want to ensure the level within your body is at its absolute maximum!

2. Exercising too frequently.

In most activities, the more you do something, the better the results you will receive. In gym routines, this actually isn't true. You do not build muscle while you are exercising; you only build them while you are resting. Exercise is only used to stimulate the growth, you then need to give you body the rest it requires to actually build the muscle.

Anything more than 1 hour of weightlifting gym routines completed 3 times a week is counterproductive and will likely result in you over training.

3. Not getting enough rest.

This is probably the biggest mistake people make. Your gym routine is important, but a solid resting schedule is even more important. The health benefits of getting 8 hours of good quality sleep is well known. Not only is it the only time your body actually builds muscle, but your body releases very important, muscle building hormones while you sleep. You are building muscle and getting growth hormones released at the same time, don't you want to maximise the length of time your body is doing this as much as possible?

4. Using supplements as a basis of diet, instead as a supplement.

Supplements by their very definition are supposed to be used after you have the basics of a good quality diet down pat. If you are not basing your diet around consuming good quality, natural foods that have the nutrients you require then all the supplementation in the world won't help you build muscle. A high quality diet coupled with great gym routines is so important!

Once you have a good quality diet, taking a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement, with perhaps a good quality whey isolate shake will help you get closer to your goal of having a beautiful, muscular body.

Avoiding the above mistakes will ensure your gym routines are the most effective, and get you closer to your goal of building muscle.

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Using the Power of Elastic: 7 Ways on How You Can Train Hard and Effectively Using Resistance Bands

I've used weights to train with for many years and still use them in some instances. Nowadays, I stick with elastic resistance bands for training. There are many benefits as to why each person should be using them as part of their overall workout. One of which is that resistance is continuous throughout each movement. In a sense, it mimics functional strength and fitness movements.

Just about anything you can do with weights; you can do with resistance bands. And that's even more so with certain bands. You can take resistance bands just about anywhere, including vacation spots. Some resistance bands are constructed in such a way that enables one to do more. For example, I use the Gym in a Bag ™ system by Flexsolate™. It's a gripless system of different strengths of bands. One exercise I am able to do are jumping resistance squats, using the ankle straps. This is just one of many systems in the marketplace. Find the one that suits you.

I'm going to describe 7 ways that will enable you to train hard using bands. It's important that you know to get the most out of training. Oh, and before we begin. Make sure you use bands that are new. Using an old set make have cracks on them and may snap. You could end up hurting yourself. So, make you also check for any cracks. Replace, if necessary. It's low cost to do so.

Now on to the 7 ways...

1. Train like a powerlifter. Back in my early days of weight training, I trained using the big three. Those were squats, deadlifts and bench presses. Those three lifts worked every single muscle in my body and built massive strength as well as muscles. With resistance bands, you can emulate those lifts and be safer too. Resistance squats can be done simply by anchoring the bands to your ankles. From there, simply bring the other end around your shoulders and neck down to the other ankle. Now you have resistance. Deadlifts can be done by stepping on the bands and holding on to the grips and then lift up. Resistance pushups can be done by bringing the bands around your back to your hands. Adjust by shortening or lengthening the band(s).

2. Train like an athlete. Resistance bands can be adjusted to simulate each athletic event and make it more sports specific.

3. Train like a bodybuilder. Resistance bands can be used to isolate muscles and focus on building the size of each one. By combining this with the powerlifting training, size will happen fast. Make sure to take in enough protein and carbohydrates.

4. Train to burn fat using circuit training. By using resistance bands, one can do 5-10 different exercises in non-stop sequence to increase their heart rate. This form of high intensity interval training is very effective in burning fat. When doing 2 or more circuits, make sure to rest for 1 minute between them.

5. Train to burn fat using resistance cardio workouts. One example is to anchor one side of the resistance band to a stationary point, such as a doorjamb and the other side to your waist. Then do running in place with resistance.

6. Train like a martial artist. Using resistance bands, you can do kicks as well a punching with added resistance. Not only is this effective for the martial artist or any other fighter, it also is great at burning fat. That's especially true when doing the movements in fast, short burst with a short rest between them.

7. Train with a partner. This one is obvious. Having a good partner will keep you motivated as you both have goals and will push each other. You can use a partner in each of the previous ways discussed. Motivation and consistency are important in any fitness program. Having a partner will make each accountable to the other.

I wish you success as you venture into using resistance bands as part of your overall fitness routine. It's great for all areas and can be done anywhere. Even at your place of work or when you are on an airline. I sure did. Have fun too.

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Essential Tips For the Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

The incline dumbbell bench press is one of the best movements you can do for your chest development. However, there are important tips that apply to this exercise, as well as to pressing exercises in general, that you must follow to get the most out of the exercise. Here are a couple of essential tips for the incline dumbbell bench press.

1. Find Your Ideal Hand Angle

The way you position your hands around the handles is important for many exercises, but especially the incline dumbbell bench press. Depending on the angle of your hands relative to your body, you can preferentially work the triceps, front delts, or upper pecs.

Since you are probably trying to work your chest with this exercise, get your palms as close to perpendicular with your body as possible. This means that they will be in roughly the same position as if they were wrapped around a barbell.

If you want to work triceps and delts more, turn your palms inward until they are parallel or nearly parallel with the rest of your body. In this position, they will be perpendicular to the position at which they would be for a barbell.

2. Get A Strong Kick-Start To Make The First Rep Easier

One of the hardest thing about dumbbell presses, especially the incline dumbbell bench press, is simply getting the weights into position. However, there are a couple of ways to make this part of the movement go more smoothly.

First, position the dumbbells close to your knee, as opposed to higher up on your thigh, when you're getting ready to kick them up to your chest. As long as you get a strong kick, this will cause them to end up closer to the bottom starting position, rather than further down on your torso.

Second, make sure you kick them up HARD. Unless your leg strength and upper body strength are totally out of balance, you're probably not going to be able to kick your working weights up with too much speed to handle. Getting the dumbbells into position quickly will prevent you from wasting valuable energy.

3. Keep On Learning (and Pressing!)

These important tips will get you started on improving strength, but you must always keep learning more new information to keep the muscular gains coming. For pressing movements, you must work on your arch, your tightness, your speed and power, and many more essential elements.

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