Fitness Trainer A to Z

The aim for beginners to weight training must be to lay the foundations for the intensive workouts that their bodies will eventually be subjected to. Obviously successful bodybuilding involves bringing together disparate elements such as nutrition and rest but choosing the right exercises is crucial. In this article we’ll outline the machine exercises that will enable new bodybuilders to develop the general strength and body conditioning needed.

Initially beginners should aim to complete two sets of ten to twelve reps but after a few weeks, when you have developed sufficient control and basic strength, experiment with one set of six to eight reps to failure. This will maximize your muscle growth and give you the impetus to move on to the next stage of development. Before long you’ll find the use of this single piece of equipment restricting, so later in this series of articles we’ll pull together a muscle boosting program that utilizes other equipment to take you to the intermediate level. In the meantime, get to work with these exercises in order to get used to working your muscles.

Start off training four days per week and work body parts on the following basis not forgetting to incorporate rest days:

Day 1 - Biceps, Back, Abs

Day 2- Hamstrings, Shoulders, Abs

Day 3 - Quads, Forearms, Calves

Day 4 - Triceps, Chest, Abs

The exercises recommended for beginners are as follows:

CHEST: Chest press

UPPER BACK: Lat pulldown, cable row

SHOULDERS: Shoulder press, upright row, cable shrug, lateral raise, front raise

TRICEPS: Kickback, pushdown

BICEPS: Standing curl

LOWER BODY: Leg press, leg extension, calf raise, lying leg curl

Scientists now know that it’s usually more dangerous to not stay active, no matter how old you are. And you don’t need to buy special clothes or belong to a gym to become more physical.

Most people don’t get enough physical activity. Here are some reasons why they should:

* Lack of physical activity and not eating the right foods, taken together, are the second greatest inherent cause of death in the United States. (Smoking is the number one cause.)

* Physical exercise can help people feel right and enjoy life more.

* Regular exercise can halt or put off some diseases like cancer, heart disease, or diabetes. It can also perk up your mood can be a direct result along with helping depression.

* Being active can help people stay independent and able to keep doing things like getting around or dressing themselves as they get older.

There are four types of physical activies you need to do to have the right assortment of physical activities.

1. Get at least 30 minutes of activity that makes you breathe harder on most or all days of the week. That’s called “endurance activity,” because it builds your energy or “staying power.” You don’t have to be active for 30 minutes all at once. Ten minutes of endurance activity at a time is fine. Just make sure those 10-minute sessions add up to a total of 30 minutes most days.

How hard do you need to exercise? The right level of effort is described this way: If you can talk while exercising without any trouble at all, you’re not working hard enough. If you can’t talk at all, it’s way too hard.

2. Keep using your muscles. When muscles aren’t used, they waste away at any age. How important is it to have “enough” muscle? Very! Muscles step-up your metabolism, allowing you to burn off more calories during the day when your body is at rest. Using your muscles may also make your bones stronger, too.

3. Do things to help your balance. Every now and then walk heel-to-toe. When you walk this way, the toes of the foot in back should almost touch the heel of the foot in front.

4. Stretch. Stretching can help keep you flexible and will be able to move more freely. Stretch when your muscles have warmed up. Never stretch so far that it hurts.

So, make physical activity a part of your everyday life. Find things you enjoy. Go for brisk walks. Ride a bike. Dance. Work around the house and in the yard, take care of your garden, climb the stairs, or rake your leaves. Regular day to day chores around the hous can keep you moving and active.

Not enough hours in the day? Feeling the crunch when it comes to finding time for just your own needs? If exercise is important to you, you might do well to consider the following:

Scenario: I really want to get in shape, but I work all day and attend multimedia classes until 8:30. How do I find the time to exercise, and what are a few good exercises for beginners like me? Solution: Finding time to exercise is certainly a challenge. Even the most motivated among us suffer setbacks during our business’s busy season or when a new project is on the horizon. The key to fitting fitness into your busy day is to recognize that finding time isn’t the issue–it’s making time.

You may be surprised to hear that you can enjoy the benefits of a regular exercise program in as little as three hours per week.

The following routine shows you how:

Monday: Half-hour of jogging, biking (on hills) or other intense aerobic exercise you enjoy
Tuesday: Half-hour of strength training (squats, sit-ups and push-ups for beginners; weight training with machines or dumbbells for the more experienced)
Wednesday: Rest day
Thursday: Repeat Monday
Friday: Repeat Tuesday
Saturday: One hour of exercise–any type of exercise. Go rollerblading with a friend, take the family to the hills for a hike or swim laps at the pool.
Sunday: Rest day

Make your workouts more time-efficient by exercising harder. For example, you can walk two miles in a half-hour, or you can run four miles in a half-hour. You can spend an hour in step aerobics class, or you can spend 20 minutes rowing at the highest resistance level on the rowing machine. When you perform strength-training exercises, use a challenging resistance and move quickly through your exercises to get an aerobic benefit.

If you want to commit to getting fit, exercise must become a part of your life–a habit as regular as brushing your teeth. Try these ideas to help you stay on track:

*Make a log of everything you do for a week, and identify the time slots where you can fit in exercise. Did you spend a Saturday afternoon watching the Back to the Future trilogy for the fifth time? Could you manage to get up a half-hour earlier on the weekdays? Just skip an hour of television time and go to bed earlier.

*Make exercise convenient. Find a place to work out that’s close to your home or office. If you’re disciplined and have the space, work out at home.

*Develop relationships with supportive people. Join an exercise class or go to the gym with friends. If you skip a class, your friends will hold you accountable.

*Exercise at the right time. The “right time” is when you’re most likely to do it. If you know your day often ends late or meetings come up suddenly, it’s best to schedule your workout for first thing in the morning when nothing can interfere. If you’re a night owl, fit your workout in before dinner. If you can only manage a 10-minute walk on your lunch hour–do it. Some exercise is better than none.

Benefits Of Exercise

Need more motivation to get fit? Consider the following benefits of exercise:
*Exercise increases your stamina and strength.
*Exercise improves your heart and lung efficiency.
*Exercise gives your body greater resistance to disease, stress, anxiety and fatigue.
*Exercise gives you more energy and enhances your capacity for work and leisure activities.
*Exercise releases hormones that stimulate the brain, helping to clear your mind, see things from a new perspective, and come up with fresh ideas.

So make an appointment with yourself to get some exercise. Your body–and your business–will thank you for it.

If you’re like most people you’re looking to get the most out of a workout that you possibly can. However exercising to build endurance requires a different approach than exercising to lose weight. To get the most out of your workout you need to know what your Anaerobic Threshold or AT is.

Your AT rate is an individual number that varies from person to person, and can even change as your body becomes stronger over time. To better understand AT we need to take a look at your heart rate. Your heart is expressed in beats per minute, the maximum rate at which your heart can safely operate is known as your Maximum Heart Rate or MHR and is an average value taken over a few minutes. Originally your AT number was believed to be between 80 to 90 percent of your MHR. However since you were taking a percentage of an average the value was often inaccurate, and a more precise measurement was needed.

Professional athletes who need to know their AT undergo a series of tests. They ride a stationary bike or run on a treadmill. A mask was placed over their mouth to measure oxygen and carbon dioxide at different levels of exertion. The results are processed using computer programs and yield very precise results. These tests are costly and time consuming and not necessary for most people.

A less sophisticated method that is reasonably accurate is the talk test. You will need to take your pulse or use a digital pulse meter or watch. When you are jogging or using a stationary bike and you can talk normally without speaking in short burst you are in your aerobic metabolic zone. As you increase the intensity and you still talk but not as easily this is the lower edge of your AT zone, make a note of your heart rate. Pick up the pace again as your breathing becomes more rapid and talking becomes more difficult and you start to speak in short bursts this is the upper range of your AT. For best results perform this test a few times on different days and average the results.

Once you know your AT range here are tips to help you get the most out of your exercise routine. Exercising below your AT range will burn some fat, and will help you improve things like blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Exercising in your AT zone will give you the maximum fat burning benefit. You will use the most calories if you can spend most of the time that you exercise in this range. Exercising above your AT zone will boost your strength and endurance. The amount of fat you will be burning will be lower than if you were exercising at a lower AT level. People who exercise vigorously and have minimal fat loss are exercising above their AT level.

Once you know what your AT level is getting the most out of your workout is easy. You monitor your heart rate and adjust your intensity to raise or lower your heart rate keeping you in your desired range. People who exercise regularly should check their AT level every 6 to 9 months and make adjustments as needed.

The pressures of daily life can be daunting, and with demanding careers and raising a family, working out is probably the last thing on your mind at the end of a busy day. However, physical fitness can benefit you in more ways than you think.

Being physically fit is not only about conquering marathons in record time and not only about looking your best on the beach — even though looking your best is always a bonus. Being physically fit can help you live a longer, more fulfilling life, it can benefit your body, your self-esteem and help you deal with the stresses of daily life.

Isn’t it ironic how you always manage to find the time to watch TV, time to catch up on your favorite program or the time to get together with friends? Yet when it comes to going to gym or getting physical, you can easily come up with at least 10 different reasons why you’re either too busy or just don’t have the time to break a sweat.

Making fitness part of your life should be a priority in everyone’s life — it should become a daily habit, the same as brushing your teeth or taking a shower. Setting aside one hour of your day isn’t much to ask when you take into account all the positive things you achieve just by being physically fit.

Apart from looking and feeling good, working out can benefit you in the following areas as well:

* Help to relieve stress, depression and anxiety
* Increase your ability to concentrate, think faster and become more sharp
* Help reduce blood pressure
* Lower the risk of developing colon cancer
* Keep your heart healthy and reduce the risk of heart disease
* Help with gaining muscle, which can build and maintain strong bones
* Increase flexibility, which can help prevent injury and help with muscular tension.

So next time you put off going to the gym, stop and think about all the benefits you’re missing out on. Just 30 minutes to an hour of physical fitness a day can be a major health investment. And remember you don’t have to be in a gym to be fit. You can enjoy fitness with your kids, your spouse, family or friends by coming up with fun, physical activities such as going for walks, swimming, mountain biking, hiking or playing golf to mention a few.

GET A PLAN

There are many great fitness plans out there that can help you get into shape and enjoy fitness, but there are also many scams that promise you the world and don’t deliver. If you have spare cash on hand, get in touch with a personal trainer at your gym and take up a few sessions or visit a biokinetisist who will help you with your goals. You can also browse the Internet for reputable sites for information.

KICK START YOUR FITNESS PLAN

If you’re a beginner into the world of fitness, ease into a routine by starting off slowly and gradually increase your endurance level. If you go all out on the first day, chances are you’ll burn out and overwork yourself to the extent that you’ll be put off fitness forever. If you’re a newbie, also remember that it takes time to get into a fitness routine and the only way to reach your ideal level is be consistent and stick with the program.

MAKE TIME

The best way to ensure that you avoid the excuses-zone is to make a habit of getting your workouts done first thing in the morning. Set your alarm to wake up an hour earlier, get to the gym and from there, you can shower and head for work. By doing your workout in the morning you are more likely to put it off later due to tiredness (or laziness), plus research has shown that you burn more fat if you do your cardio sessions first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

If you are looking for fitness personal trainers on the net, you will come across many many health and fitness websites extolling the virtues of why you should hire a personal trainer to achieve your fitness and health goals didn’t you? If you are reading this article of which you are doing now, you are probably surprised to find why a fitness personal trainer like me is telling you why you don’t need one. You will probably think that I am crazy. Perhaps I am. Well, read on and you may discover that I am not as crazy as you think after all.

• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you hated the commitment that entails once you hire a personal trainer. Anyway, you have been working out for many years without any commitment to anyone, even to yourself and that is why, you only workout as and when you are pleased. Well, you do concede that the results you get are never satisfactory and of course you are frustrated with your results. But what the heck, you prefer to waste time, waste gym membership fees and enjoy getting frustrated. You are entitled to your liberty.

• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you hated someone to push and encourage you so that you can achieve your health and fitness goals much faster. Your idea of going to the gym is to socialize and to chat up girls. So why should you subject yourself to a regimen planned by a personal trainer who can sculpt your body to be more attractive and desirable to the girls you wanted to chat up? Your beer belly will do just fine. Girls just love big beer bellies you justify to yourself. So who needs a flat tummy with those ugly six pack abs? You certainly don’t.

• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you believe in the precept of “no pain no gain.” So if you exercise using the wrong form and techniques resulting in painful or even worse, permanent injuries, well, that is pain isn’t it? So therefore with pain, there will be gains. Hmmm, such profound reasoning that even the great philosopher Confucius will be confused if he is still alive eh?

• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you pay your income taxes. So without someone to guide and train you scientifically, you will not lose much body and visceral fat, so you will still have that high blood pressure, that potential stroke and heart attack, so that you will eventually land in a government subsidized hospital and so that some of the taxes which you have paid will be utilized by yourself. That is great clever thinking eh? You are glad that even without a PHD in business studies, you can figure out how to get a wonderful return of investments from your taxes paid

• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you believe in conforming to the society. After all, most people in your country are overweight and not exactly glowing with good health, then why should you be otherwise? You are delighted to be like most people, obese and unhealthy. Hey, you are a good citizen aren’t you?

• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you can spy on people who hired personal trainers in your gym. You eavesdrop on their trainers giving instructions and then you secretly work out according to what you have overheard not realizing that each and everyone is different and workout plans are to be tailored to each individual condition factoring in other issues like lifestyle, dietary habits and even the choice of exercises. You prefer to “monkey see, monkey do” and eventually falling painfully off the tree. Or should I say falling off the Empire State Building where the mighty King Kong fell?

• The most compelling reason why you don’t need a fitness personal trainer is because you have downloaded my “Burn Fat Build Muscles Fast” e-books and now you have a personal trainer in your hands. By following the instructions in the books you have transformed your body tremendously and are now the proud owner of an attractive and desirable body not to say you are also glowing with excellent health and fitness. Whoever said that you need to hire fitness personal trainers in order to own a lean mean attractive muscular body that only others can dream of must be crazy, don’t you agree?

There are two main types of exercise. Aerobic and Anaeobic exercise. Let’s start with the first one. Aerobic literally means with oxygen. Aerobic exercise has an important distinction; it burns fat as its main fuel. Can anyone find a use for this? Anaerobic means without oxygen. Anaerobic burns sugar as its main fuel. Despite popular myth, exercise doesn’t have to be drastic to provide massive physiological benefits. Even light exercise will burn fat.

Light exercise clears out lactic acid (a waste product in the body) and stimulates cells to regenerate. To ensure you’re exercising aerobically (burning fat) rather than exercising anaerobically, it’s important to ensure you do several things as you exercise.

The most important is to breathe deep as you exercise. Breathe in deep into your stomach through your nose, hold it and then exhale hard through your mouth.

Secondly, make sure that you exercise at a level that’s comfortable. Exercise at a level of 7/10. You should still be able to carry on a conversation while you exercise. Do this for at least 45 minutes a day and notice your energy explode.

Do you think you don’t have time to do this? There is always time. Use the time you would have spent sleeping to replenish your body. I guarantee that you’ll need less sleep. Use the time in your lunch break to exercise. The increase in productivity will have you more on the ball, and save you time through the dramatic increase in productivity. See, with the increased oxygen from aerobic exercise your brain speed and efficiency increases. Ride a bike, walk, swim or play sport.

Rebounding (or cellularise as it’s now known) is one of the best forms of aerobic exercise around. If you have access to a rebounder, use it. Use any break you have whilst working to engage in some form of movement and deep breathing.

Exercise also strongly benefits the heart. It literally makes it a larger and stronger organ. Deep breathing makes the lungs stronger and larger. Research is now linking exercise to helping benefit and prevent almost every type of disease or ailment. Movement of any joints promotes blood flow and creates energy. Sitting down all day actually robs the body of energy. If you sit down all day it’s absolutely vital that you promote blood flow, circulation, energy, brain flow and the strength of your heart.

Getting fit is on the minds of most people. However, many people are not consistent and fail in the first three months of an exercise program. But if it becomes a habit and they stick to it, something magical happens after four months. You are finally getting the results you expect and chances are you will continue with the exercise program.

Here a 10 simple tips to help you with your fitness success.

1. Get Moving. Resolve to be active in a variety of physical activities on a regular basis that will develop strength, cardiovascular capacity and flexibility.

2. Prime the Pump. Resolve to participate in physical activities that involve the large muscle groups of the body.

3. Let Your Muscles do the Work. Resolve to lift weight or use resistant exercises to place demands and challenge your muscles.

4. Loosen Up. Resolve to stretch regularly – before and after or during exercise. Remember to move your muscles through their full range of motion on a regular basis.

5. Win the Losing Game. Resolve to maintain your weight at an appropriate level. If you need to lose weight, a general rule to follow is to eat less and exercise more (both in moderation).

6. Watch What You Eat. Resolve to eat a healthy diet. Good nutrition equates to good health. Good nutrition involves providing your body with the required nutrients in appropriate amounts.

7. Chill Out. Resolve to keep matters of your life in proper perspective. Know what factors you can and cannot control in your life. Don’t “stress out” over those things beyond your control. See change as an opportunity, not a threat.

8. Get Plenty of Rest. Resolve to get enough sleep. The basic guideline concerning how much sleep you need is whatever enables you to feel refreshed, alert and in relative good spirits the next day. Sleep helps to rest and restore your body – both physically and mentally.

9. Keep Your Focus on the Task at Hand. Resolve to make time to exercise on a regular basis. Consistency gets results. Focus on the muscle you are exercising. Don’t just go through the motions.

10. Keep in Mind that “There is no Free Lunch.” Resolve to commit to sound lifestyle choices. For example, don’t smoke. Maintain an appropriate level of body fat. Avoid the latest fitness and diet fads, magic potions and exercise gadgets that seem too good to be true (they always are).

1. Sport is for professionals. This idea applies only in the case of performance sports. The native qualities required for professional sportsmen (speed, skills, specific height, etc.) can only be developed, they can’t be formed by training. As long as the aim of a regular person is not performance, almost all sports can be practiced for keeping the body in a good shape. It’s all about dosing the training you chose, so that the benefits are bigger than wear and tear. Even the sports considered tough can be practiced in a ’soft’ way (tae-bo, mini-triathlon, jogging, etc.).

2. Training is tiring. This idea is true as long as it refers to consuming all your energy (muscular and hepatic glycogen), but it doesn’t mean that training gets you into that state of exhaustion which would slow down the process of recovery of the body. Even in performance sports, the purpose is to have rather effective than exhausting training, so that the body can get the stimulation necessary to qualitative progress from one training to the next.

Even more than in other sports, in fitness the sportsman is spared overexerting. However, the training must not become ineffective. People can come to the gym tired after a work day and leave relaxed (physically and psychologically) and not more tired. This is extremely useful for people with sedentary jobs, but also for those who make physical effort at work. They could use the training by choosing a type of effort meant to compensate the one involved in their job.

3. Training takes too long. Again, this idea is true if applied to performance, which can only be obtained by working a lot. But also in this case short and very intense training or training for relaxation and recovery are often performed. In fitness, you can get to 20-minute training, working only super-series of fast exercises, which could involve, directly or indirectly, all the muscles. Anyway, regular training shouldn’t take longer than an hour and a half. Otherwise, the body will get into the catabolic faze, when the cortisone secretions ‘cannibalize’ the muscles.

4. Any type of exercise is good for solving your problems. What’s true in this refers to some particular cases like excess of adipose tissue. This tissue can be ‘melted’ by any kind of aerobic exercise (running, cycling, swimming) if this is continued long enough. Even in these cases it was clear that some exercises are more effective than others. There are situations when only a combination of exercises with a certain amount of each, can provide you with the results you expect. More than that, repeating the same exercise all the time can have as a consequence not only losing balance in the antagonist muscles and in the joints involved in training, but also stopping progress or even regressing.

5. You’re older? No more exercises! This is true only if we refer to extremely demanding efforts (really heavy weights, fast running, jumping, etc.). There are lots of exercises adapted to different ages. Their purpose is to keep and improve health and also to improve physical shape. The development of movement parameters for older people refers especially to muscular and cardio-vascular resistance as well as mobility of the joints. Because the final purpose of training is not preparing for a competition, the exercises can be organized gradually according to their difficulty, eliminating the risk of accidents. Because it’s based on perseverance, fitness can be adapted without problems for older people and even for people suffering from different affections specific to old age.

Fitness in general includes both aerobic and anaerobic aspects. According to the priorities of the sportsman, one or the other of the two aspects will be emphasized, but the second one will not be neglected. The purpose of doing fitness exercises is, ideally, to create a complete athlete, able to face various physical and psychological demands.

The object of aerobic fitness is the so-called cardio training, a term which refers to the cardio-vascular system and the heart muscle (myocardium). We’ll talk about trainings which do not make oxygen duty and which are generally called ‘trainings of aerobic effort’. More exactly, they refer to efforts which take a long time (more than 12 minutes) – usually they take between 20 and 60 minutes and they determine acceleration of cardiac frequency and lung ventilation. Efficiency in training requires a frequency between 60-80% of the maximum cardiac frequency (calculated according to the formula 720-age – in years).

The typical exercises of aerobic fitness come from classic resistance sports (long distance running, cycling, swimming, fast walking, etc.) and from different aerobic training programs (aerobic gymnastics, step-aerobic, tae-bo, dance, etc.).

Aerobic fitness uses specific cardio machines: treadmill, classic or elliptical trainer, stepper,etc. Dosing the aerobic effort depends on the somatic type and the actual objectives of each sportsman.

Normally, the ectomorphic and mezomorphic types, which do not accumulate large quantities of subcutaneous adipose tissue, will need to practice for a rather short time (20-30 minutes per training in two or three trainings a week, in non-consecutive days). This time is necessary for realizing an effective cardiac stimulation, without the risk of losing muscular mass.

For the endomorphic somatic type, ‘benefiting’ of a lot of adipose tissue, aerobic training must last 45-60 minutes and needs to take place 4-6 times a week.

Even if trainings are extended (time, miles) and they are more frequent, their intensity, which is given by the cardiac rhythm per training, must remain high, so finally the body burns as many calories as possible. It is well-known that only after 20-30 minutes the body starts to mobilize the fat ‘deposits’. Before this, at the beginning of the training, the energetic support of the aerobic effort is ensured by the muscular and hepatic glycogen, the same as in anaerobic efforts, which are supported exclusively by the glycogen from the muscles and the liver.

This is one of the main reasons for recommending, in programs designed for losing weight, aerobic exercises – they are the biggest and fastest ‘fat burners’. Of course, the other big benefits of these exercises appear at the cardiovascular, pulmonary, psychological and other levels.

A real euphoria is observed at the psychological level during aerobic training. This is motivated by the big number of endorphins produced in the body by this type of effort. Endorphins, also called hormones of happiness, are not produced in such a big quantity during anaerobic effort. Anaerobic training determines a big release of catecholamine (adrenaline, noradrenalin), which are considered stress hormones.

A disadvantage of aerobic fitness is, first of all, non-developing a strong and fortified musculature, because of the reduced muscle efforts. We can also observe (and must resist) the monotony of the training, which is long and repetitive.

However, generally speaking, the advantages of aerobic fitness are remarkable and irreplaceable.