Quick Guide To Mastering The Muscle-Up

In the world of fitness and strength training, there exists several benchmarks which are a tell-tale sign of true mastery and an elite level of strength. Once you reach that level, you know that you are in the top percentile of athletes in the world. Before we reach these lofty heights, there are a few fitness benchmarks we can achieve in less time, but still garner huge rewards from.
One such benchmark is the muscle-up. The muscle-up is a strange amalgamation of the conventional pull up and the standard dip - both of which are fitness benchmarks in and of themselves. Mastering this exercise is the next step in your progression to become fitter and stronger. So how do you become an expert at muscling up your entire bodyweight without breaking a single bead of sweat?
The trick is to condense the entire movement of the muscle-up into two separate parts. The initial part of the movement is the pull up. The second part is the dip. If we are able to master these two movements separately, we are then able to join them together and combine them into one single successful movement. This is how most athletes train. They break everything down into small parts and work on them separately first. Without further ado, let's get into it.
1. Master the weighted pull up - The initial movement in the muscle-up exercise is the pull up. A conventional pull up simply isn't sufficient to do a muscle-up. To be able to get into a position to complete the second part of the muscle-up movement (the dip), you need to get your chest, not just your chin, over the bar. So how do you build this up? You use weights! When you can do a pull up with an additional quarter of your bodyweight, you'll have enough power to do a muscle-up.
2. Master the weighted dip - The weighted dip is a rather easy exercise. Firstly, like the pull up, you must master the basic bodyweight movement first. Dips only work if performed with their full range of motion. That means you need to dip to at least 90 degrees if not more. Master a full dip first before strapping some weight onto yourself. Once you are able to dip with a quarter bodyweight of additional weight, you're good to go.
3. Get a grip - The key to making the transition from the pull up to the dip is a sturdy grip. Your wrists shouldn't slide around the bar and your grip should be vice like. The problem is that if your pull up bar does not rotate freely, you may need to adjust your grip as you pull yourself up. However, this happens naturally. You simply need to have sturdy wrists to keep yourself from breaking or straining your wrists.

Big Weights: The Secret to Big Muscle Gains?

With well-worn phrases such as "no pain, no gain" to "eat big to get big," there is no shortage of one-liners used to describe the world of weight lifting and bodybuilding. However, it seems at times that these phrases are nothing more than catchy ways of expressing ideas that don't actually hold true when put under the microscope. Of course, one-liners aren't the only pieces of advice repeated throughout the bodybuilding community. Another popular sentiment is that you have to lift big weights to get big muscle gains. Is this true? Unfortunately, the answer is a bit more complicated than a simple yes or no.
Large muscle gains are dependent on many factors, including diet, genetics and of course, training. Simply put, there will not be one factor that absolutely dooms or confirms your results. However, training does have a large effect. In order to make any gains - large or small - you need to challenge your muscles in a way that overloads them. This means that you need to continue increase the amount of work your muscles need to perform, whether in the form of the amount of repetitions you perform or the amount of resistance you put on your muscles. In other words - at some point, you will have to lift heavier weights, because heavier weights will be required to produce serious muscle gains.
But are heavier weights the only way? Again, no, but they are important. If you choose to embark on a muscle-building journey that focuses on building muscle through performing a lot of repetitions, you will soon notice that your muscle gains may not necessarily be as massive as you'd hope. Instead, your performance improvements will be mostly in the form of enhanced muscular endurance, as performing more repetitions with an amount of resistance that is not overly challenging helps your muscles function better under repeated strain and doesn't really improve size all that much.
If your main goal is size, then you should focus on lifting heavier weights, even if you cannot lift them for a great number of repetitions. The difference in the type of challenge - a high level of resistance over a limited number of repetitions rather than a low level of resistance over repeated bouts - will spur your muscles to develop in a different way. This difference will result in primary increases in size rather than just in muscular endurance.
In addition, you can also focus on increasing "time under tension," which is often abbreviated TUT. This method of muscle growth enables you to lift heavy weights and doesn't focus on a high level of repetitions but instead challenges you to support the weight for as long as you can in one long repetition. This type of training takes the principle of heavy weights and low repetitions to the extreme, promoting even larger gains in size.

Top 3 Easy Abs Exercises

The top 3 abdominal exercises that will shred your midsection for the 6 pack of your dreams. These exercises have to be performed together as they will maximise your muscle's capacity to burn fat. Each exercise should take at least 10 minutes; you have to apply these exercises constantly for 30 minutes daily. It may take around 90 days, depending on your genes, for you to get the desired results. So get off your lazy butt and start making some changes to your life.

Elbow Dumbbells

Balance your body with your elbows as you would when you are doing push ups. Hold a light weight dumbbell on your right and balance your body with your left elbow, make sure that your feet are parallel to each other, and then lift the dumbbell from your right thigh towards a 90 degrees angle, keep your right arm straight and repeat the process again, do the same for the right elbow. Your arms should be parallel to the floor and your biceps should be perpendicular to the floor for you to perform this exercise effectively. Do this exercise in 4 sets of 10 repetitions.

Lower Abs Exercise

Balance your body with your elbows as you would when you are doing push ups. Move you right knee towards your stomach until you feel the muscles in your left leg stretch, do the same for your left knee. Picture this exercise like athletes when they are about to start a race. Do this exercise in 4 sets of 10 repetitions.

Elbow Plank

Balance your body with your elbows as you would when you are doing push ups. Now stay in this position for at least 3 minutes for each set. Do it 3 times to make up for the 10 minute mark.

Like I said, these 3 exercises are easy, but they are not as easy you think. Their purpose is to trim your midsection and your abdomen as a whole. Be careful, when you feel pain in your neck it usually means that you have to stop. Take a few minutes to rest and recoup between each set, ideally you should rest for about 1 minute in each set. Also it is a good idea to place arm bands around your elbows as this will make you comfortable during the process, placing your elbows in direct contact with the floor for such a long time may disturb the flow of blood. It is very important to drink at least a litter of water after performing this exercise.

Break Through Your Weight Training Plateau With These Tips

Every bodybuilder that has continued lifting weight for a long enough period of time has experienced a "plateau" - a point where your gains in strength and size seem to completely stop. This occurs even when following nutrition, supplementation and workout routines perfectly. It is one of the most frustrating things about being a bodybuilder. And there are only two options when reaching a plateau: blast through it or give up.
If this is your first plateau, chances are it's time to increase your training intensity. Just doing three sets of 15 reps isn't going to be enough for your body any more. You've already taken your muscles to one limit, now blast through to the next. There are several methods for increasing the intensity of your weight lifting. We've outlined a few of them below.
Take a Break from the Gym
If you've reached a plateau, the first thing you should do is...rest. Studies have shown that weight lifters do not lose a significant amount of muscular strength or size if they stop working out for up to two weeks. Just avoid the gym for one week. You should stay motivated by reading bodybuilding articles on the internet or in magazines, and planning out your new workout schedule. After a week off, you could find that you have more energy because you allowed all your muscles to completely recover.
Also, sleep is very important to your body for recovery, especially if you lift weights. Make sure you are getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night. Just an extra one to two hours a night can make a huge difference in your gains as a weight lifter.
Change your Workout Schedule
If you are currently working out three days per week, increase your trips to the gym to four days per week. If you already go four times, now go five times (if you already go five times, consider going less - maybe you're going too often).
If you're currently exercising different body parts on different days, consider changing the days you do each body part. If you usually do chest and triceps on Monday, try doing them on Tuesday. If you are currently going three days each week, and do different body parts on different days, you will have to reorganize your workouts anyway. Below is an example four day body split routine:

• Monday: Back and Biceps
• Tuesday: Chest and triceps
• Thursday: Thighs and Calves
• Friday: Abs and shoulders

Change Each Exercise
First, before adding any more intensity to each exercise, be sure that you are performing each exercise with excellent form. If you are jerking or swinging the weight, simply paying attention to keeping your form strict may be the change you need to start your muscles growing again.
One idea for increasing the intensity is doing what's called a "burn set". Let's use the biceps curl as an example. If you usually use a 50-pound barbell, and you can do 12 reps in each set, as soon as you reach failure on that 12th rep, immediately put that barbell down and grab a 25-pound barbell and crank out as many reps as you can. You'll then see why it's call a "burn set". Throwing this type of crazy pump after a standard set will certainly shock your muscles.
Reaching a bodybuilding plateau can be one of the most frustrating aspects of weight lifting. But you can get through it; you just have to push on through. As long as you don't give up, you won't be disappointed in the results.

Purchasing Fitness Equipment Vs Going to a Gym

Purchasing fitness equipment is also necessary for very busy individuals who may prefer to multitask, for instance one can easily watch television while at the same time running on a treadmill. In addition it is much more comfortable for an individual to try out new exercises at home or tone up, master an exercise or shed off few pounds prior to attending gym sessions. So what are some of the factors to consider when purchasing fitness equipment?
First and foremost, the fitness equipment should match the taste and preferences of an individual who is going to use it. When deciding to purchase, it important to consider the kind of an exercise that you like not just because according to research it is recommended for certain purposes, otherwise the equipment purchased may not help much in getting money's worth. It is also not wise to force yourself to perform exercises that you are not used to by purchasing equipment and accessories relevant to it.
In the market there are lots of products that claims to burn away fats in specific areas or offers to improve abdominal tone immediately after use while the truth is that fat removal takes place throughout the body. Natural workouts that are regulated carefully the best solutions to such kind of problems instead of these deceiving products.
Lastly, when purchasing, never apply the principles of price equals to quality. It would be advisable to seek the recommendation of trainers or friends for the right kind of equipment that would satisfy your needs and also help in determining with surety if the more expensive equipments are the choice. However if you have limited income, it is a good idea to go for less expensive options then do upgrading with time. The main objective when purchasing fitness equipment should be to getting the equipment that will serve you best at practical and fair prices. It is also important to consider the repair, replacement and maintenance costs in accomplishing these objectives.
Most importantly, determine in advance where your new machine(s) will be stored. Establishing the dimensions of both the equipment to be purchased and the available space could be a good method of determining this prior to purchasing equipment. This will help you in purchasing fitness equipment that can be comfortably and easily stored in your house. Purchasing home fitness equipments can be tricky especially for beginners who may have little information on the right kind of equipment they need.

What You Must Do To Achieve Satisfactory Results With the 10 Minute Workout

Embarking on a series where I wanted to review and share some of the more popular Beachbody.com workouts, seemed like it would be both fun and easy. These workouts have this way of making you so confident in the power each workout has to bring change.
My immediate thinking as a graduate of P90X is that there would be some sort of special ingredient that somehow transcends the basics of what you must do to achieve great results with any workout program. In other words, I thought I'd find a common thread that amounted to a magic bullet.
With Regard to the 10 minute Tony Horton workout "10 Minute Trainer", I was pre-calibrated to believe it was a miniature version of P90X, and that just following along would be a sure path to great results.
The reality was much different, and this came to be apparent as I focused on the user reviews of the product. Basically there was a line of demarcation between who had good things to say about 10 Minute Trainer and who had negative things to say about it.
The line was written on either side of having the proper approach and expectations. I would actually say that with the 10 Minute Tony Horton workout, far more than with P90X, you have to have a very rigid mental outlook on one key area, but than a more open attitude in one other key area.
The first area deals with proper nutrition and diet. One user described it as "controlling the gate". To see results that you want to see (or you will likely quit) means eating right. This more than anything means less intake of foods that are full of processed sugars and preservatives. As seen in the recent "60 Minutes" piece on the negative effects of too much sugar, you have to know that it causes obesity.
So bottom line, eat pure and clean. Focus on things out of the ground or animals that eat things out of the ground. Get your carbs from fruits and vegetables.
The area where you need to have an open attitude is in your desire to limit your workout to only the one workout of 10 minutes each day. You can achieve results on 10 minutes a day, but to really see the faster results and the gains physically, you will likely have to do more than 1 workout each day. Unfortunately, this is not strongly laid out in the marketing materials for the product.
Managing expectations and approach is your job and will make the difference between "10 Minute Trainer" being positive for your fitness goals or another shelf dust collector.

Fitness for less: 4 low-cost ways to shape up

If the only thing keeping you from starting a fitness program is the cost of a gym membership, here's good news. You don't need to join a gym to take physical activity seriously. Plenty of low-cost alternatives can help you get fit without breaking your budget. Consider these four tips to help you get started.
1. Take advantage of everyday opportunities

You don't necessarily need special equipment for an aerobic workout. With a little foresight, activities you may take for granted can become part of your fitness routine.

    Step it up. Take a brisk walk every day, whether it's a path through your neighborhood or laps in a local mall. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or make a full workout of climbing the stairs. Sneak in extra steps whenever you can by parking farther away from your destination.
    Make a workout of household chores. Mow the lawn, weed the garden, rake the leaves or shovel the snow. Even indoor activities such as vacuuming and scrubbing count as a workout if you increase your heart rate.
    Join in the fun. If you have children, don't just watch them play. Join them for a game of tag or kickball. Walk them to the park. Dance. Take a family bike ride. Go to a community pool. Even if you don't swim, you can enjoy time in the water or walk in the shallow end.

2. Consider modest investments

If you're looking for fitness bargains, these inexpensive fitness products may be a good bet:

    Dumbbells. Dumbbells are small, hand-held weights that you can use to strengthen your upper body. They're available in many sizes.
    Resistance tubing. These stretchy tubes offer weight-like resistance when you pull on them. Use the tubes to build strength in your arms and other muscles. Choose from varying degrees of resistance, depending on your fitness level.
    Jump-ropes. Skipping rope can be a great cardiovascular workout.
    Fitness ball. A fitness ball looks like a large beach ball. You can do many core exercises, including abdominal crunches, with a fitness ball. You can also use a fitness ball to improve your flexibility and balance.
    Exercise videos, DVDs or podcasts. Create the feel of a health club aerobics class in your own living room — or choose a program that'll help you improve your strength and flexibility. Pick a program that matches your current fitness level and is endorsed by a certified fitness instructor.

If you're able to make a slightly bigger investment, you might consider video games that are designed to get you moving. Depending on the software and game system, you may be able to plug in and dance, swing a virtual tennis racket, practice yoga, improve your strength and flexibility, and more.