About.com Weight Training

Get Ready for the Holidays - Increase Your Training!

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:42:32 +0000

It's always a challenge to stay fit and lean when you know there will be temptations galore in the guise of rich food and alcohol at a certain time of the year.

In fact, there is every reason, at this time,�why you should not get into the habit of slackening off your training and commitment because you feel you have an excuse. It should be other way around.

Because you're likely to over-indulge, you might actually want to escalate your effort a little to compensate. I've spent Christmas morning in a gym -- only once, and early I admit . . . (and then there was that 10-miler) -- but anyway, before you accuse me of not having a life, I was determined not to let my fitness suffer from wine and song and, well . . . food of course -- you know what it's like at Christmas.

In any case, here are a few workouts you might want to revisit to keep things on track and moving in the right direction.

Get Ready for the Holidays - Increase Your Training! originally appeared on About.com Weight Training on Saturday, November 21st, 2009 at 20:42:32.

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Should You Lift Weights When You're Unwell?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:07:59 +0000

If you train all year round, and you don't like to miss more than a day or two, what do you do when you're not feeling so good?

This is a situation that all regular exercisers and athletes have to deal with at some time. The first thing to consider is the nature of your illness or debilitation. Is�it�muscular soreness, a joint injury, extreme lethargy, or a flu-like or common cold infection?

Whether you can train through musculoskeletal injuries is a matter of experience and, or medical advice. If you're just extremely fatigued, in the absence of signs of infection, then you may just need a few rest days.

However, if you have a cold or flu-like symptoms, especially in these days of H1N1 influenza risk, you need to be careful. Although the risk is probably low, exercising with viral infections has been implicated in viral cardiomyopathy, a debilitating and�serious heart condition.

The general approach is that if you have the aches and pains in muscles and joints typical of influenza infection, be sure to rest until better. If you have a light�head cold with no obvious flu-like progression, then you might by okay to exercise lightly. You could cut your overall weights volume and intensity back a little and do your training at home. Don't spread any infection around at the gym or club.�For chest infections you probably need a medical opinion if you want to do anything too vigorous. If you do exercise, keeping the heart rate low, say below 60% of maximum heart rate, is a good idea.

(I must admit to having run a marathon while on antibiotics for a chest infection, but that was in the days when I was younger and sillier and I probably would not do it again and neither would I recommend it.)

The bottom line is: Be cautious, back off when the viral lethargy is obvious, and definitley�get medial advice if you're not sure.

Should You Lift Weights When You're Unwell? originally appeared on About.com Weight Training on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 18:07:59.

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How Much Muscle Can You Build in a Month?

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:37:48 +0000

Questions similar to this get asked frequently on weight training and bodybuilding forums. And there is no shortage of "experts" and marketers making outrageous claims for wild muscle growth with certain programs and diets. I'm talking about steroid-free training here.

The variables are many -- men, women, young, old, skinny, fat -- you name it; it won't be the same for everyone, naturally.�Let me know your best month here.

Full article is here:� ---> How Much Muscle in a Month?�

How Much Muscle Can You Build in a Month? originally appeared on About.com Weight Training on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 18:37:48.

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High School Strength Coaches Use Standard Weight Training Performance Programs

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:12:07 +0000

Strength training is a standard part of most high school sports and athletic programs. Yet we often hear about so many variations in training approach, exercise prescription and program development, that it was interesting to read a recent survey of high-school strength coaches published in the�Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

From the results, it looks like most high school trainers are following proven strength and conditioning and weight training principles. Here is what they found:

89% of the survey respondents were certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
Coaches assess an average of 5.83 different parameters of fitness, with strength as well as power being the most common parameters assessed.
Coaches tested an average of 3.86 times a year with an average of 8.51 specific tests per testing session.
All coaches used a variety of flexibility development strategies using dynamic stretching more frequently than static.
Thirty-six of 38 (95%) coaches follow a periodization model.
37 of 38 (97.4%) coaches indicated that their athletes used Olympic-style lifts.
37 of 37 (100%) coaches (who responded) used plyometric training with their athletes.
The squat and its variations, as well as the Olympic-style lifts and its variations, were most frequently identified as the most important exercises prescribed.
All coaches use speed development and agility training strategies with their athletes.

Duehring MD, Feldmann CR, Ebben WP. Strength and Conditioning Practices of United States High School Strength and Conditioning Coaches. J Strength Cond Res. 2009 Oct 12p

High School Strength Coaches Use Standard Weight Training Performance Programs originally appeared on About.com Weight Training on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 21:12:07.

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Bodybuilding.com Raided for Steroids

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:58:18 +0000

Bodybuilding.com is the leading bodybuilding web site with a claimed 'million plus' forum members. It also sells bodybuilding and health supplements -- lots of them -- over 12,000 products according to the web site.

According to an FDA notification, on 3 November, Bodybuilding.com and FDA notified healthcare professionals and patients of a nationwide and international recall of all lots and expiration dates of 65 dietary supplement products that were sold through the company's website, www.bodybuilding.com.

FDA believes that the recalled products contain the following ingredients that are currently classified, or the FDA believes should be classified, as steroids: "Superdrol," "Madol," "Tren," "Androstenedione," and/or "Turinabol." Acute liver injury is known to be a possible harmful effect of using steroid-containing products. In addition, ther FDA says that steroids may cause other serious long-term adverse health consequences in men, women, and children. These include shrinkage of the testes and male infertility, masculinization of women, breast enlargement in males, short stature in children, a higher predilection to misuse other drugs and alcohol, adverse effects on blood lipid levels, and increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and death.

Customers who have any of the products in their possession, says the FDA, should stop using them immediately and contact their physician if they have experienced any problems that may be related to taking one or more of the ingredients listed above. Any adverse events that may be related to use should be reported to the FDA's MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program.

The FDA says that consumers should return any unused products purchased on the company's site to the company.�

---> Find out how to choose weight training supplements�in this article.

The following is a list of the recalled supplements.

4Ever Fit D-Drol
Advanced Muscle Science Dienedrone
Advanced Muscle Science Liquidrone UTT
Anabolic Xtreme Hyperdrol X2
APS (aka Advanced Muscle Science) Mastavol
APS (aka Advanced Muscle Science) Revamp
APS (aka Advanced Muscle Science) Ultra Mass Stack
APS (aka Advanced Muscle Science) Ripped Stack
Better Body Sports Finadex
Black China Labs Straight Drol
Black China Labs Straight Phlexed
Body Conditioning Solutions TestraFLEX
Bjorklund Methyldrostanolone
BOSC Enterprises Epi-Tren
BOSC Enterprises Magna Drol
Chaparral Labs Epivol
Chaparral Labs Pheravol-V
Competitive Edge Labs M-Drol
Competitive Edge Labs P-Plex
Competitive Edge Labs X-tren
Diabolic Labs Epio-Plex
Diabolic Labs Finabolic 50
Diabolic Labs Revenge
Ergopharm 6-OXO
Ergopharm 6-OXO Extreme
EST (aka Engineered Sports Technology) MethAnstance
Extreme Labs Susto-Test Depot
Fizogen ON Cycle II Hardcore
G.E.T/ (Genetic Edge Technologies) SUS-500
G.E.T/ (Genetic Edge Technologies) Tren-250
Hardcore Formulations T-Roid
I Force Nutrition 1,4 AD Bold 200
I Force Dymethazine/Reversitol Combo Pack
I Force Reversitol
I Force Nutrition 17a PheraFLEX
I Force Nutrition Dymethazine
I Force Nutrition Methadrol
IDS (aka Innovative Delivery Systems) Bromodrol
IDS (aka Innovative Delivery Systems) Grow Tabs TR
IDS (aka Innovative Delivery Systems) Mass Tabs
IDS (aka Innovative Delivery Systems) Oxodrol Pro
IDS (aka Innovative Delivery Systems) Ripped Tabs TR
IDS (aka Innovative Delivery Systems) Rapid Release
Ripped Tabs
Kilo Sports Massdrol
Kilo Sports Phera-Mass
Kilo Sports Trenadrol
Monster Caps Monster Caps
Myogenix Spawn
Nutra Coastal D-Stianozol
Nutra Coastal H-Drol
Nutra Coastal MDIT
Nutra Coastal S-Drol
Nutra Coastal Trena
Performance Anabolics Methastadrol
Performance Anabolics Tri-Methyl X
Purus Labs E-pol Inslinsified
Purus Labs Nasty Mass
Rage RV2
Rage RV3
Rage RV4
Rage RV5
Redefine Nutrition Finaflex 550-XD
Redefine Nutrition Finaflex Ripped
Transform Supplements Forged Extreme Mass
Transform Supplements Forged Lean Mass

Bodybuilding.com Raided for Steroids originally appeared on About.com Weight Training on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 06:58:18.

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Review of Women's Home Workout Bible

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:18:46 +0000

Brad Schoenfeld is a well-known trainer and author from New York. He runs the popular Personal Training Center for Women in Scarsdale.

His latest book, published by Human Kinetics, is called the Women's Home Workout Bible, subtitled A better body for every budget.

The first thing that impresses about this book is the quality of production -- large format and with superb color photograph illustrations of exercises and equipment.

Read the full review at Women's Home Workout Bible.

Review of Women's Home Workout Bible originally appeared on About.com Weight Training on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 20:18:46.

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Lift Slow, Lift Fast - Mix Up the Tempo

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:10:37 +0000

Tempo in weight training is the rhythm at which you raise and lower a weight, including the rest time at the top of the lift and at the bottom of the lift. There's much discussion in weight training circles about the best tempo for various outcomes, but this mostly applies to bodybuilding and general weight training rather than powerlifting or Olympic lifting.

Tempo has a particular numeric scheme to describe the different phases. For example, 30X1 would mean:

The first number '3' is the time in seconds to return the weight in the eccentric or negative phase.
The second number '0' is the pause at the completion of the exercise or at the starting point.
The third character 'X' means an explosive lift in the concentric phase. This would be the raising of the dumbbell in an arm curl for example. X stands for explosive movement, but this could be 2 to 5 seconds in an alternative tempo arrangement.
The fourth number '1' is the pause at the top of the lift (or press) -- when you have bent the elbow and lifted the dumbbell to maximum contraction in an arm curl for example.

Many schemes are possible, depending on the program you're following and the results you're after. "Superslow" training, for example, might use a 10-second lift rather than an explosive lift. I know of no reliable research that shows that training at this very slow tempo has any advantages.

For novice and general fitness training, you could use 3331 or even 3631. Remember that the first number is the eccentric or negative movement of returning to the starting position while lengthening the muscle and increasing the joint angle. Older trainers seem to benefit from an explosive (X) concentric phase according to recent research, and explosive lifting is a standard training methodology for developing power for sports or other requirements where speed and strength are required.

Lift Slow, Lift Fast - Mix Up the Tempo originally appeared on About.com Weight Training on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 19:10:37.

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How to Do Machine Back Extensions

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:15:39 +0000

Back extensions and hyper-extensions work the lower back muscles, the erector spinae, which appear to play a role in maintaining a strong and pain-free back.

You can do back hyper-extensions on a mat on the floor or on a fitness ball, but a specialized gym station is available in many gyms. It's often called the hyperextension bench. See how it works here:

How to Do Back Extensions

Image: (c) TrainerClipArt.com

How to Do Machine Back Extensions originally appeared on About.com Weight Training on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 05:15:39.

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Women Need Impact Training for Bone Health

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:35:59 +0000

If you're a woman and you cycle or swim on a regular basis, you're doing your heart and cardiovascular system a lot of good.

Unfortunately, this non weight-bearing exercise is not the best type of exercise to maintain and perhaps enhance bone density and strength -- yes even cycling. You need to get more impact into your exercise program.

Although this also applies to men as well, as discussed in Velo News recently, women are even more at risk of declining bone density.

Impact exercises like running and jogging and appropriate weight training exercises are highly recommended. Here's a roundup.

Women Need Impact Training for Bone Health originally appeared on About.com Weight Training on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 19:35:59.

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It's Okay to Train 7 Days a Week

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:31:25 +0000

Most of the advice you read for weight training frequency says to do no more than two days consecutively or to take two recovery days between sessions for a total of about 3 days each week -- for beginners at least.

That's not a bad starting point but you need to apply some common sense. I know it makes sense for beginners in order to limit injury and soreness, but as you get fitter, and as you understand how to manipulate the intensity and volume of workouts for any particular body region over the course of a weight training program, then you might very well train every day of the week -- at least occasionally -- although it's probably not a good idea to make a habit of it. It's not like all of sudden the wheels will fall off if you do seven days straight from time to time if you're in tune with how your body is feeling and coping.

Physical training with weights, running or any other form of activity requires a common-sense approach to get the best results. You don't want to overdo it, but if you have a good sense of your capacities, you don't want to be restricted by some arbitrary rule either.

It's Okay to Train 7 Days a Week originally appeared on About.com Weight Training on Sunday, October 18th, 2009 at 03:31:25.

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