Category: Uncategorized (Page 7 of 9)

Mastering the Pull-up

April 25, 2007 / Anthony Stalter

As a beginner – or even if you’re experienced – nothing can be more embarrassing than jumping up on a bar and only banging out one pull-up. In fact, the average person approaches the pull-up bar like he or she is about to steal something, looking around to see if anyone else is watching before hammering out a sloppy, uncontrolled couple of sets.

Well, stop it, because you’re only hurting yourself by not maximizing the value the pull-up can bring. Your latissimus dorsi (back) is the biggest muscle in your body and if you want a V-shape torso, the pull-up can’t be viewed as the red headed stepchild of your workout any longer.

Here is an article from Men’s Health magazine dedicated to mastering the pull-up. It has a step-by-step guide on helping you improve add reps to your pull-up routine. It doesn’t matter if you can do 0 to 1 reps or 8 to 12, this article should help you maximize the benefits of the pull-up.

Here’s a taste of what the article offers. For the entire column, click here.

Your Best Effort: 0 TO 1
The problem: You’re not strong enough to lift your body weight.
The fix: Turn your weakness into an advantage with heavy “negatives.” Doing only the lowering portion of an exercise with a heavier weight than you can lift is a fast way to build strength.
How to do it: First, a couple of definitions.
– Chinup: This is the same movement as a pullup, but you’ll use a shoulder-width, underhand grip. Because your biceps are more involved, it’s a little easier than the pullup.
– Neutral-grip pullup: Again, it’s the same basic movement, but you’ll grip the parallel bars of the pullup station so your palms are facing each other. This is harder than a chinup, but not as hard as a pullup.
Now follow the workout schedule below, using this method of performing negatives: Place a bench under a pullup bar and use it to boost your body so your chin is above the bar. Then take the prescribed amount of time — either 5 to 6 seconds or 8 to 10 seconds — to lower your body. Once your arms are straight, jump back up to the top position and repeat. Rest for 60 seconds after each set.
Week 1: Chinup : 3 sets : 5–6 reps : 5–6 seconds
Week 2: Neutral- grip pullup : 3 sets : 5–6 reps : 5–6 seconds
Week 3: Neutral- grip pullup : 2 sets : 5–6 reps : 8–10 seconds
Week 4: Pullup : 2 sets : 5–6 reps : 8–10 seconds

Back, Bodybuilding, Exercise, Specific workouts, Uncategorized, Weight training, Workout programs, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

Keep it simple with your diet

April 17, 2007 / Anthony Stalter

Anyone who has taking the time to do the research on getting into shape undoubtedly has come across general rules to dieting. Mike will often post on how important your diet is to either losing weight or packing on muscle. Dieting is the key to everything. Having the best workout plan and following it perfectly will crumble under a poor diet.

What people tend to have trouble with as far as dieting goes is that they think of it as a diet. Diets don’t work. Think of the way you eat as a lifestyle change and you’ll be more apt not to binge and have poor habits. If staying in shape and looking your best is worth it to you, nobody should have a problem with a complete lifestyle change as opposed to trying gimmicky diets.

I found a solid article at MSN.com about how to control your cravings. One of the general rules in the article is to eat approximately every three hours. As it’s detailed in the article, it can’t be stressed how important it is to continuously eat throughout the day. Eat four to six meals every day so that you don’t have spikes in your blood sugar, which causes you to binge it and grab anything and everything in your site (i.e. junk or fast food). I know, people work. But don’t use that as an excuse. Fight through it and find a way to bring small snacks to continuously eat throughout the day. Your optimum health depends on it!

Click here to check out the MSN.com/Men’s Health article.

Diets, Nutrition, Uncategorized, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

10 Foods Tough to Digest

April 3, 2007 / Anthony Stalter

Ever feel like your stomach is about to explode even after having a healthy meal? Ever have heartburn or a mild case of irritable bowl syndrome? Well it could be the specific foods that you’re eating on a daily or bi-daily basis.

MSN.com posted a recent article containing 10 foods that are tough for your body to digest.

The 10 (not in any specific order):

– Fried chicken nuggets
– Spicy food
– Chocolate
– Citrus juices
– Mashed potatoes
– Raw onion
– Ice cream
– Broccoli and raw cabbage
– Beans
– Sugar-free gum

I definitely agree with broccoli and beans being on this list. Frequently after workouts I’ll combine chicken with broccoli and beans over rice. Afterwards my stomach blows up like a bowling ball for several hours. It’s interesting to now get confirmation on why that happens.

Click here to read the entire article with brief descriptions of why these foods are tough to digest.

Diets, Nutrition, Uncategorized, Xternal Fitness

Is mandatory exercise in school a good idea?

March 20, 2007 / Anthony Stalter

Lawmakers in Kentucky won an approval to pass a bill requiring public elementary and middle schools to make physical activity a part of children’s daily routines.

Under the bill, schools would have to include a half hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day, or 150 minutes a week, by the 2008-09 school year.

Personally, I think this a fantastic idea. According to an About.com article, experts estimate that 15% of kids are overweight and another 15% are at risk of becoming overweight. Anything that could potentially help get these numbers down should at least be experimented with. I don’t see how teaching children about daily exercise and proper nutrition could ever be a bad thing, especially with obesity being a major problem in U.S. adults too.

Not all are thrilled about the idea, however.

Sen. Jack Westwood, R-Crescent Springs, expressed some misgivings but voted to advance the bill.
“I’m nervous about the potential that this is going to take away some time from the classroom,” he said.

Sen. Westwood has a valid concern, but I doubt 30 minutes of daily exercise is really going to take away from a child’s normal studies. Plus, daily exercise is great for keeping the mind active and alert, which should only heighten a child’s learning capabilities.

Exercise, General fitness, Magazine Hype, Uncategorized

Foods that fight aging

February 20, 2007 / Anthony Stalter

We all eat food for different reasons. Some of us eat certain food to lose weight or to build muscle, while some eat whatever the hell we want, when we want. Well, what about eating food to fight aging?

In a recent online article, Men’s Health highlighted five foods that will help battle the ravages of old age:

Sunflower seeds
These salty wonders have the highest natural vitamin E content of any food around. “Vitamin E is one of the most important nutrients around for looking younger,” says Barry Swanson, Ph.D., a professor of food science at Washington State University. “No antioxidant is more effective at fighting the aging effects of free radicals.”
Spinach and beans
Researchers in Australia, Indonesia, and Sweden studied the diets of 400 elderly men and women, and found that those who ate the most leafy green vegetables and beans had the fewest wrinkles. The reason? Spinach and beans are full of compounds that help pre-vent and repair wear and tear on your skin cells as you get older.
Grape juice
Besides providing protection from heart attack and stroke, grape juice can also help keep your middle-aged skin from sagging. “Grapes are filled with antioxidant polyphenols that help to keep your skin flexible and elastic,” says Swanson.
Sweet potatoes
Overexposure to the sun is one of the primary reasons men age prematurely. But sweet potatoes may help to fight sun damage. European researchers recently found that pigments from beta-carotene?rich foods — like sweet potatoes and carrots — can build up in your skin, helping to prevent damage from ultraviolet rays.
Cheese
No wonder rats always look so young. “Cheese is one of the best foods you can eat for your teeth,” says Matthew Messina, D.D.S., an American Dental Association spokesman. “It’s a good source of calcium, to keep your teeth strong. Plus, eating cheese can lower the levels of bacteria in your mouth and keep your teeth clean and cavity-free,” he says. Dr. Messina recommends eating at least two servings of block cheese every week.

Eventually, we all think about getting older. Since we’re already eating certain foods to gain or lose weight, why not add some that will help us look better for when we take advantage of that senior discount at the movies?

Anti-Aging, Magazine Hype, Nutrition, Uncategorized