Visualize Your Muscle Building and Fitness Success
July 30, 2011 by admin · 1 Comment
For many the term visualization is something we let pass over our heads when we are trying to obtain success in some area of our lives. In reality, we all visualize in some form or other. Whether it is day dreaming about going on vacation or, someone we admire, we all have been there at one time. That is what makes our minds so significant in our present and future success.
In the world of bodybuilding or fitness, the pros know how to visualize and concentrate on getting the results they are after to get them at the top of their game. In getting your muscles and body to respond, you not only have to put the work and time in at the gym but, to separate yourself from the rest of the field you want to incorporate visualization.
Taking the time to find a relaxed spot and than spending 5-10 minutes closing your eyes and seeing your body as the finished product you are wanting to obtain will get you one step closer to realization.
You first need to see it in your minds eye before you see the physical equivalent. All inventions that the world has seen for the most part were seen in the inventors minds eye before they finally came to pass.
If you want to build more muscle first see that muscle on your body. You want to lose weight, first see what your body will look like with the pounds ripped off your frame.
Believe you can obtain it and you will!
Don’t let me fool you though it is not easy. Like anything good it takes work. Practice, practice, practice.
There are numerous articles 0n the world wide web and books that cover the science of visualization and how to incorporate it into your life.
I strongly recommend you look into this area if you are serious about changing your body or your life for the better.
Drop me a comment let me know what your experiences are with visualization or how to proceed with it for faster and lasting fitness results.
Richard Haynes PTA/CPT
Total Joint Fitness LLC
Punta Gorda, Florida.
http://www.totaljointfitness.com
http://www.orthopedicweightloss.com
Muscle Building and Proper Form
July 29, 2011 by admin · 3 Comments
When it comes to building good quality muscle there is more to it than grabbing hold of a dumbbell or barbell and swinging it around in a hectic fashion. Now believe it or not, I see this on a continual basis in my own gym. Trying to get to correct themselves however can be tough task.
Using proper form not only assures you that you are placing the needed resistance and ultimately the stress required to build muscle on the area designated but, you will save yourself a lot of trouble and down time by avoiding injury.
By short circuiting your weight training efforts, you will become frustrated and become a member of the ” lifting weights does not work for me” club.
Whether you are just starting out or, have been working out with weights for some time now, it would behove you to review you technique by either obtaining and researching a book on the topic or, contacting your gyms personal trainer for a review of your lifting mechanics.
You will save yourself a lot of precious time and become much more efficient with your lifting and, will guarantee that you are working the muscle in question without having secondary muscle groups coming into play taking the intended stress off the primary muscle.
By doing this, you will begin to see faster gains in both muscle size and strength. Working out can be tough enough as it is, making sure you are spending your time wisely in the gym by building quality muscle and avoiding injury is what your weight training is all about.
Richard Haynes PTA/CPT
Total Joint Fitness LLC
Punta Gorda, Florida.
http://www.totaljointfitness.com
http://www.orthopedicweightloss.com
Building Muscle With Rest
July 24, 2011 by admin · 1 Comment
For those of you that have been in the weight training game for awhile, you understand the importance of getting your rest. Unfortunately, many of you that are just starting out in weight training may fall prey to the “more the better” school of thought.
I did myself many years ago when I was much younger. I started weight training myself without doing the type of research that you should do prior to taking up the iron game. My theory was the more I lift, the bigger my muscles will grow!
That was the farthest thing from the truth. I worked biceps seven days a week. Crazy. I was fortunate that I did not injure myself. Little did I know I was tearing down what I was building up. I may have been all of 17 or 18 at the time.
Today with all the technology we have at our disposal in learning the truth about how muscle grows, we know that periods of rest are vital to get stronger and build more muscle. It is when you rest that your muscle is growing, not at the gym.
It is important that when you start working out for the first six months to a year, to workout three no more than four times a week.
Getting the proper amount of sleep is vitally important. This where all the major reconstruction is going on throughout your body. This includes your muscles being re-built after those hard training sessions.
Your muscles will grow with the proper amount of rest.
Remember, no more than three to four times a week in the weight room when you are first starting out and, getting seven to nine hours of sleep at night will begin to get your muscles in an anabolic state and growing.
Richard Haynes PTA/CPT
Total Joint Fitness LLC
http://www.totaljointfitness.com
Warm Up Prior To Your Workout
July 19, 2011 by admin · 1 Comment
Prior to starting any workout, the first thing you want to accomplish is to be sure you have warmed up correctly. I observe in my local gym where many newcomers to the weight training game enter the gym and jump on a machine or, grab a barbell and start to work immediately.
They are setting themselves up for an injury which will keep them out of the gym and, supress your muscle building efforts.
When you begin any workout the first thing you want to do is take your body from a resting state and prepare it for exercise.
How you warm-up is your choice, stretching, biking, walking on the treadmill etc…all are activites that help prepare your body for a rigorous workout.
By warming up for approximately five minutes prior to your workout, you allow your muscles to get flushed with blood, which allows them to work at their maximal ability and, allows for more abundant blood flow to the area. More blood means it is carrying more nutrients to the muscles nourshing them.
Warm-ups also help increase the speed of nerve impulses which makes for more efficient body movements.
Also, you want to be sure you use exercise-specific warm-ups prior to exercise. Exercises like the squat, deadlift, or bench press will take a few more minutes of stretching and lifting lighter weight during your warm-up period to be sure the muscles are prepared to handle maximal poundages.
I can promise you a muscle pull or strain can take quite a while to heal if you do not take the time to strectch and warm-up correctly.
The moral of the story is to make sure you take the time to warm-up prior to lifting the iron to keep yourself healthy and prevent injury.
If you have a story about how you warm-up or, what happened to you by not warming up properly, leave me a comment.
Richard Haynes PTA/CPT
Total Joint Fitness LLC
Punta Gorda, Florida.
http://www.totaljointfitness.com
Losing Weight and Meal Frequency
July 17, 2011 by admin · 1 Comment
When it comes to losing weight and building more muscle you have to include proper meal frquency in your training plan.
The days of eating three square meals a day to properly satisfy your muscle building and weight loss goals are no longer valid.
Through scientific reasearch we know now that our bodies utilize food much more efficiently through smaller, more frequent meals. Its the same idea with diabetic patients who are instructed to eat smaller meals more frquently to avoid spikes in blood sugar. More frequent meals control hunger pangs and keeps your body satisfied without having those large swings in sugar levels in your bloodstream.
I personaly eat between 5-6 meals a day. I pack smaller food portions and, use protein shakes as well to supplement my food consumption.
Each meal should have a protein and a complex carb added with it if possible.
I consume a lot of chicken breast during the week plus eating a salad with it. I have two protein drinks a day as part of my meals.
I take them with me on the road as I do not stop to eat during the week in my occupation as a road warrior. It only takes a few minutes to drink a shake that you can carry in a plastic container and mix it with water.
I also carry and RTD as well which is a protein drink already mixed in a sealed container.
There, I have two meals already plus, what I carry in tupperware in my food container.
Your meal frequency and the food you consume is what will take you to the next level whether you are building muscle, losing weight or both.
If you are eating properly and training correctly you will be adding muscle and losing bodyfat in combination.
Remember do not get to wrapped up in your weight. Its the body composition that counts. If you are adding muscle you may be in fact putting on a few pounds but,your body composition will be improving.
Eat more often with smaller amounts for a faster more productive metabolism.
Richard Haynes PTA/CPT
Punta Gorda, Florida.
http://www.totaljointfitness.com
Training Abdominals and Fat Loss
July 14, 2011 by admin · 1 Comment
When it comes to training your abdominal muscles there has been so much hype and mis-information out there that no wonder everyone can be easily confused and frustrated.
The bottom line is this, you do not have to work your abs everyday. Though they have what is called slow twitch muscle fiber and, are used to prolong work loads they can be overtrained as well.
Exercising your abs three days on and one day off will suffice.
To get the abdominals to show you have to do more then 1000 crunhes a day. to get the six pack ab look, you need to incorporate aerobic work plus, consuming a diet with low fat content and plenty of fruits and vegtables. Lifestyle change is key!
Though this sounds like common sense, I am always amazed at the number of people at the gym who will spend 45 minutes or so working their abs and wondering why they do not see the results they are after.
Generally they are missing one of the key components that is required to get the adominals to show.
Remember this, in the abdominal area it is the first place your body will store fat and, the last place it will take it off.
This is why a disciplined program of weight training, aerobic exercise, and diet need to be ussed in conjunction with each other to burn the fat away.
Your body will not spot reduce. You cannot just target the addominal area in other words.
Patience, discipline, and determination is what it takes to have a successful fat burning program.
if you would like further information on how to construct a program to burn the fat and build a strong abdominal area to assist with your overall core strength as well, leave a comment and I will get back with you.
Richard Haynes PTA/CPT
Total Joint Fitness LLC
Punta Gorda, Florida.
http://www.totaljointfitness.com
Building Muscle and Mental Preperation
July 12, 2011 by admin · 1 Comment
For bodybuilders and other experienced weight trainers, building muscle is more than just arriving at the gym. Before getting to the gym you need to have a plan. Matter of fact, it would be a good idea to have your battle plan for the gym laid out in your mind the night before.
Becoming a top of the line weight trainer, bodybuilder, or just getting yourself into better physical condition will take some planning. You should have in your mind the night before what bodypart you are working and, what exercises you plan to work with. Find out what mentally excites you when considering the type of equipment or free weight you will use.
The battle of staying fit and building muscle all starts in the mind. You need to have your mind focused and ready to take you to the place where paying the price in hard work and determination pay off.
Enter the workout area focused and determined to improve yourself physically and mentally.
Richard Haynes PTA/CPT
Total Joint Fitness LLC
Punta Gorda, Florida.
http://www.totaljointfitness.com
Muscle Confusion
July 3, 2011 by admin · 1 Comment
Avoiding sticking points in your quest to build more muscle and develop your body to its fullest is important to see the types of gains in your development that you expect. Muscle confusion involves constantly changing your routines to keep the body guessing.
Most weight trainers and bodybuilders should change their routines every 6-8 weeks. Some will change their routines every time they hit the gym. Our bodies are very efficient in adapting to the stress that is placed on it. If you do not change your routine around, the body then adjusts to the workout and will not respond as well. Therefore, to continue seeing progress you can modify your routine in a number of different ways. Some of them are as follows:
Adding more repetitions
Adding more weight to the exercise
reversing the order of exercises
Using dumbbells instead of barbells
Using your body weight instead of free weights
Using machines instead of free weights
Increasing your work out tempo
Working the exercise at different angles.
As you can see there are a large number of different variables you can work with to break things up and avoid getting stagnant. The list I added is just a small number of actual ways to break sticking points with your training.
Keep adding and changing your program around once you either become stale physically or your workout no longer stimulates you mentally. Anywhere from 6-8 weeks should suffice for most.
If you have other great ideas that you have used in the past please leave a comment and share it with all of us.
Richard Haynes
Total Joint Fitness LLC
Punta Gorda, Florida
http://www.totaljointfitness.com