Recession Special

If you can't afford a fitness facility or going to the gym turns into a huge drag and you are urging for a six-pack, check out the couch potato routine.

What is an efficient workout?

When is it not enough or when is it too much exercise? Because not everyone's muscle growth is the same, there is no concise answer. As a starter, meaning you probably have never been to a gym before, its good to do one or two different exercises for every muscle. Do this for about a three week period and your body will be ready to begin a real workout. Consider it the warm-up phase.
For those who have been lifting weights for a while but do not know what type of routine to stick with, there is the basic session that works for everybody. This workout consists of making active two muscle groups. A major group, for example your pectorals, and a minor like your triceps. Exercising muscles that complement each other make for a better, more productive, session.

Ideally, an hour well spent at the gym will have you do the following:

1. Warm-up your muscles
2. Exercise
3. Stretch

The portion you are actually lifting weights should look like this:

Muscle Group A

1. Exercise 1 (4 sets, 12 reps each)
2. Exercise 2 (4 sets, 12 reps each)
3. Exercise 3 (4 sets, 12 reps each)
4. Exercise 4 (4 sets, 12 reps each)

Muscle Group B

1. Exercise 1 (4 sets, 12 reps each)
2. Exercise 2 (4 sets, 12 reps each)
3. Exercise 3 (4 sets, 12 reps each)
4. Exercise 4 (4 sets, 12 reps each)

What makes each set different is how you increase the weight. It does not have to be a constant 5-10 lbs increment every time. What you want to do is do a set on a weight that will challenge you, but enables you to complete the 12 repetitions to the end.

If you are constant with such a routine, you'll start noticing those sexy differences in no time!

Organic Fruits

For any balanced diet, fruits are very important. For doing exercise, fruits provide you with natural energy to see you through any session. When buying fruit, the best to get is always organic. But this purchase might be costly. Avoid buying certified organic, you can save a few dollars when purchasing instead organically grown fruits. Look out for sales and discounts too, you'll be surprised how much a month you can save on fruits.

Keep in mind, as well, that some fruits have a protective layer that we don't eat. Farmers might spray on the pesticides, but the fruit will remain intact. Some examples of fruits (or even vegetables) you can buy that don't have to be organic are:

• Bananas
• Watermelon
• Onion
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Kiwi
• Mango
  

Examples of fruits (and vegetables) that are recommended to be bought organic:

• Apples
• Grapes
• Lettuce
• Peaches
• Strawberry
• Tomato
• Celery
• Bell Pepper
  

Time management

To obtain results, lets face it, you have to be serious. That means consistency. Exercising once a week won't do anything. At least try hitting the gym 3 days a week, for at least an hour. But it has to be an hour worth your sweat. If you do your sets efficiently and and pause a short yet adequate amount of time in between, then you will have a productive and safe workout.

Athletes train every day, and so do bodybuilders. But bodybuilders let their muscles relax. He can train a muscle group one day, do cardio the next, a different group on the third day, cardio the fourth,....and so on until reaches the muscle group he started with. Above everything, bodybuilders know the importance of consistency and they have strategic days off rest so their body can recuperate.

For the averge health-oriented, fitness enthusiast, or gym monkey, a steady routine is just as important. Exercising is about conditioning the body. So respect your workout schedule (no slacking!) and you'll speed up results guaranteed!

Group Training

How can someone else improve your fitness results? In a positive way. Working out alone is not for everybody. Sometimes it is even harder. Why would you ask anybody to workout with you anyways? When exercising with someone you can simply attain better and faster results. This person will help you keep motivated to keep on going, or sometimes just to leave your home and go to the gym on those lazy days. Also, you won't have to ask anyone for a spot anymore, your own friend will help you push yourself. So if it's hard for you to be active, just ask a friend to accompany you. Soon enough you'll see how fun it can be to exercise with your pals and how your results will improve.

Importance of Stretching Muscles

It is very important to stretch your muscles. Stretching should take place when your muscles are warm. There are various reasons why we should stretch:

1. It helps balance muscles to improve posture.
2. It increases the supply of nutrients and oxygen to muscles from blood circulation.
3. It helps prevent injuries, such as sprains or torn ligaments.
4. After your workout, you'll feel less soar as muscles are more relaxed.

It is good to warm-up before stretching. This way it'll be easier to push your muscles harder while you exercise. You can focus on stretching the muscles you are going to train, but imagine your body as a whole. This way you will be able to balance and align your body much more.

There are times as well that you should not stretch. And that is for example if you have suffered a fracture, or injured your ligaments or your joints.

Surprise your Muscles

Its ok to have a workout routine, but it's not ok to keep your exercises the same all the time if you want your muscles to grow. Whenever you try doing push-ups, per se, you should change the way you position your hands once in a while. This will exercise different areas of your pectorals, strengthening the overall muscle, and will also have a positive effect on your shoulders and your triceps. Also, this practice helps to stimulate muscle growth. Its all about experimentation. Try out different exercises, and as you learn more, switch them around in your routine. Don't be afraid to try different workouts, well, as long as it's safe and they don't hurt your muscles.

Eat, Eat, Eat

I'll get into the details of what to eat later because I first want to remark the basic fact that muscles will never grow without an appropriate diet. Food and exercise come hand in hand. To gain weight you should have at least 5 meals per day. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and finally dinner. Have 3 full and appropriate meals and some snacks in between such as a sandwich, fruit, a protein bar, etc. How much you eat will enhance the results of your workouts. I will get into what are appropriate foods and what are their qualities to help you achieve your fitness goals. And I will repeat, without eating properly, you can just about forget about even working out.

Muscle failure

The growth of muscles is in reality the breaking down of our muscle fibers. The fibers are torn when stressed, and then the tear is filled in with organelles that form additional muscle protein strands. When working out to increase muscle weight, you want to tear your muscles (yes, it sounds pretty gruesome). The best way to achieve that is by reached muscle failure. That is when your arms, lets say you are working on your biceps, cannot lift the weights no matter how hard you try to complete that rep. Essentially, what you have to do is challenge your body. When you think you cannot make one last rep, just try pushing a little harder or get a spotter. This helps to keep your body growing instead of keeping yourself in a "maintenance" workout.

100 push-ups

A great technique to make your body stronger is to use your own body. I have seen a couple guys grow their upper body muscles impressively just by doing push ups. But there should be a goal. If you can make your body able to do 100 push-ups per day you will see a very fit body on yourself. You should start with as much as you can first. Then try doing them in sets. Maybe 5 sets of 10 to begin with then ad push-ups to your sets and about 20 seconds rest in between each set. 5 sets of 12, then 5 sets of 14. By this time you'll want to keep doing 14 push-ups but just add another set. After a week and another set. After that week try doing 5 sets of 20. You'll notice by a month and a half some changes. Not only that but you'll feel how stronger your body becomes!

Day One - Where does muscular growth begin?

To make those muscles stand out, there is one thing you should always keep in mind: Your body is always on survival mode. What does this mean? It means that the body is constantly trying to store. The body is always thinking ahead. If you don't eat enough, it will store and convert more food into body fat for the future, and if you don't exercise enough and eat more, it will just keep storing and digest what it can. Knowing this, you'll understand that the body adapts. So you have to exercise and push your body into changing. Cardio is the best way to begin. Your muscles will begin reacting, your heart will begin pumping, and your body will begin burning calories for energy. Get your body to acknowledge that it's about to become stronger, and it will obey; the rest is up to you!