Fitness Weight Training
Combat Core Strength
Planks
Planks are the most recognized static exercise for the torso. They should be held for time and can be overloaded with external resistance that is added to the lifter around their mid to upper back. The lifter should create a hard contraction in their abdominals, glutes and hamstrings to remain rigid.
Weighted Planks
These exercises demonstrate planks with external loading to increase the intensity as you get stronger.
Mountain Climber Planks
The lifter will perform an alternating mountain climber movement, while holding a plank. This is a great transitional exercise because it creates a static contraction in the abdominals while engaging movement of the lower body.
Planks on Trampoline
Planks done on a trampoline are an effective way to really activate the abdominals. As the lifter holds the plank position agitation from a partner can be added or the lifter can move into a one arm position. This is an excellent way to start progressing from a conventional plank to more advanced torso training movements. It also improves shoulder stability at the same time.
Side Planks
Side planks should be done with no sagging of the hips, torso or shoulders. The movement should be held for time. Distractions like having the lifter respond to verbal questions or bouncing a tennis ball will increase the difficulty because a coordination between breathing and bracing must be established.
Bench Side Bends
Dynamic side bends can be done on a bench and will target the obliques and quadratus lumborum through a range of motion (ROM). Stability is added to the bracing shoulder with the opposite hand across the chest if there are shoulder issues.
Reverse Crunches
Reverse crunches target the rectus abdominis and posterior fibers of the external obliques. This aids in returning our pelvic alignment back to neutral without the subsequent hip flexor shortening and reinforcement of poor posture (and rib cage depression) typically associated with conventional crunches.
Reverse Crunches with Med Ball
By adding a medicine ball to the movement, it allows us to add some more tension (we don’t need a lot) and engage the hip adductors more.
Side Crunches
Side crunches are done to target the internal and external obliques. I like this exercise because if you do it right, it incorporates the lats isometrically and begins the “reconnection” of the upper and lower musculature, working together.
Bicycle Crunches
Again, bicycle crunches engage the lower body with an abdominal movement. The movement is coordinated transversely (ie. Left shoulder to right knee and vice versa), which is anatomically how the (internal and external obliques) abdominals are orientated.
Sprinter Sit-ups
This movement is similar to the bicycle crunches but done with an arm swing. The head should remain neutral during the movement and the arm and leg swing should be done powerfully.
Medicine Ball Straight Leg Sit-ups
While holding a medicine ball overhead, the lifter will sit-up to a point where there is maximum tension (not all the way up). After reaching this point, slowly lower back down and repeat. The goal is to keep tension on the abdominals throughout the entire movement.
Standing Cable Crunches
The lifter will face away from a cable stack with the rope attachment connected. From their, they will brace and crunch downward. Slowly extend back to the starting position. The weight can be varied according to your strength levels.
Standing Band Crunches
Same movement as with the cable stack, but now an elastic band is used. The band is anchored above the lifter’s head (in the pictures below, the band is tied around a pull-up bar). I like this variation because the tension increases, as leverage improves. Read more
Muscle Building Supplements
Learn Which Bodybuilding Supplements Are Worth Your Money And Which Ones Are Nothing More Than Pure Hype!
Nothing is more confusing in the world of bodybuilding than the all-too controversial topic of muscle-building supplementation. Just flip open any muscle magazine and you will be instantly flooded with endless advertisements for all kinds of pills, powders and liquids that promise dramatic gains in minimal time.
Health & fitness supplements are a multi-billion dollar industry, and their carefully planned out marketing campaigns have been sucking in good, honest people just like you for years.
Before I go any further, I want you to truly understand one important fact…
There are no shortcuts to any place worth going!
If your goal is to achieve a strong, muscular body, I guarantee that you will not get there by pounding back bodybuilding pills and powders. If supplements actually followed up on the promises that they made, everyone would be huge and muscular.
You might be thinking by now that I am completely against the use of supplements.
This is definitely not the case!
All I want you to realize is that supplements are just that: supplements. They are there to supplement your diet and fill in those missing gaps that whole food simply cannot provide.
If you’re training hard and eating properly, supplements can definitely help you reach your goals faster than you would without them. However, supplements are not there to replace anything. They are simply there to give your program an extra boost.
The important thing is for you to learn which supplements are worth your money and which ones are not. But with the endless number of products out there and all of those greedy marketers trying to get their hands on your money, how can you possibly know who to listen to?
Luckily for you, that’s what I’m here for!
Here are a few supplements that make the cut on my “approved” list..
Multivitamins
While it may be true that natural foods contain all of the vitamins and minerals necessary for an average person to stay fit and healthy, those who train intensely with weights have much higher nutritional requirements.
Intense workout sessions place heavy demands on the body, and therefore greater amounts of vitamins and minerals are necessary to allow for optimal performance and recovery.
Taking a high-potency multivitamin everyday is a great way to make sure that you’re receiving all of the vitamins you need. Vitamins perform literally thousands of functions within your body that are not only important to overall health but are critical in the muscle-growth process.
Protein Supplements
If you’re looking to add a considerable amount of muscle to your frame, you will need to eat roughly 1-2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight every day, which should be spaced out over 5-7 meals. This is extremely difficult to do using strictly whole-foods, and this is where protein supplements come in handy.
Whey shakes, meal replacements and protein bars will allow you to easily boost your protein intake and consume a quick meal without endless preparation and cooking.
Creatine
Creatine is found naturally in fish and red meat, but in order to obtain a significant amount you’d have to eat a lot of these foods. Creatine is the most researched sports supplement available and has been shown time and time again to be both safe and highly effective.
Creatine will aid you in building muscle by hydrating your muscle cells, increasing your short-term energy stores, buffering the effects of lactic acid and by improving your recovery.
For the best results, use 5 grams daily.
Essential Fatty Acids
Otherwise known as the “good fats”, essential fatty acids are highly beneficial to the muscle growth process. Among their many positive effects on overall health, EFA’s can help to speed up your results by increasing testosterone levels, improving your metabolism and volumizing your muscle cells. Flax seed oil and extra virgin olive oil are great sources of EFA’s.
These are just a few of the basic, proven supplements that will help to enhance your gains. Just remember, supplements will NOT do the work for you! They are just one small piece of a much larger puzzle.
It’s also very important to remember that there are far more worthless supplements out there than there are legit ones. Every month a new company comes out with some new “revolutionary breakthrough” that promises huge gains. You must be aware of this and not allow yourself to get sucked into the never-ending mass of marketing B.S.
Here are a few supplements that are marketed heavily but that you should definitely avoid…
Citrulline – Considered “the next big thing in bodybuilding”, citrulline supposedly works by increasing the body’s levels of nitric oxide, which translates into greater power output and muscle growth. Sounds great, except for the fact that there isn’t a single study out there that supports its benefits.
Ecdysterone – Ecdysterone is what is known as a “plant sterol”: a compound found in plants that is structurally similar to anabolic human steroids such as testosterone. After various tests and studies, most scientists concluded that ecdysterone simply did not have any anabolic effect on humans whatsoever.
N02 – Although still a very popular muscle building and strength gaining aid that continues to fly off the shelves, anyone who pays attention to the latest research knows that N02 has basically been “debunked” at this point.
Not only is there no clear-cut evidence that arginine (the active ingredient in N02 supplements) raises nitric oxide levels in the body (the claimed benefit of these products)… but there is also no evidence that increased nitric oxide levels even have any positive effect on muscle growth or strength increases in the first place. Read more
