Home Gym

Setting up a gym at home instead of going to a health club? Setting up a home gym is very useful. It can allow you to train as and when you want making it a 24hour fitness gym. I mean, why waste time travelling to a gym when you could save the travelling time on doing more workouts? You could invest a small amount of money to buy affordable fitness or gym equipments and turn your house into a gym. It really isn't that difficult. You could also look out for discounts in exercise equipment when buying gym equipments.

3 Muscles in Your Legs to Consider With Your Body Building Workout

When putting together a body building workout, it is vital you workout your legs and upper body. There are three main muscles you want to focus on with your legs; your quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. By working out these muscles, you will build strong and durable legs.

Luckily, many leg exercises will workout each of the three muscles. Squats are great for building strong and powerful legs. It involves you placing weight on a barbell and squatting down with the weight rested on your neck. It is important you perform this with good technique. Other exercises for your quadriceps include leg press, leg extensions, dumbbell lunges and dumbbell squats.

Moving along to your hamstrings, there are three great body building workouts you can do. The first is lying leg curls in which you lye face down on a leg curl machine and lift up. The other two exercises are stiff legged dead lifts and dumbbell stiff legged dead lifts.

The last of the muscles to include with your body building workout is your calves. There are several exercises you can do to build up your calves giving you muscle for leaping abilities. The most common exercises include standing calf raises, seated calf raises, leg press calf extensions, and standing one legged calf raises. All calf raises consist of you simply standing on your toes and raising yourself using your calf muscles.

Putting together a quality body building workout for your legs is essential. You want to have strong, powerful legs to support your upper-body. Unfortunately, far too many bodybuilders focus solely on their upper-body.

Take these exercises and apply them to your workout regimen to build strong legs. You can work your quadriceps into your bicep, tricep and shoulder workout day and place your calves and hamstrings with your back and chest workout day. This makes for a perfect workout schedule.

5 Minutes a Day to Build and See Your Six Pack Abs

Having a visual six pack mid section is the number one goal of almost everyone who works out and is the top indicator of a fit person. Having abs that ripple and show is not as hard or as complicated as some would have you think. It comes down to 3 simple steps that requires less than 5 minutes per day.

Your mid section is comprised of basically two muscle groups, the external obliques and the rectus abdominis. The rectus abs are the "six pack" muscles and the obliques fill in between your abs and your back muscles. To have a visually appealing ab area you must train both muscle groups. The three largest mistakes people make are over training the abs, under training the obliques and using poor form. These muscle groups work in tandum and to get the most development they must be trained equally. Neither will develop fully with imbalanced training, a lot like bi's and tri's or quads and hamstrings.

The most important single aspect of effective abdominal training is good form. It's more important than the amount of weight used and harder to do with core work because they are not really large muscles, meaning they tire quickly, and for most people they aren't "visible" so you can't see them work as easily. Tired muscle overworked with poor form exercise, trains nothing.

The first step is to train the rectus abdominals. There are plenty of good ab exercises, but I use a cable machine and do Kneeling Cable Pull Downs. These are effectively crunches but done kneeling and pulling a cable down towards the floor. These are excellent because you can keep adjusting the weight, either up or down, to get the best full range of motion while allowing your form to stay good.

The second step is to again use a cable machine and do Woodchoppers. Place the cable high and assume a position that allows you to swing your torso around and down as if to swing an ax chopping wood. Again, using cables allows for correct weight choice.

For the above exercises you could do crunches and use a dumbbell for chops if a cable machine isn't available. Do an AVERAGE 30 good reps of abs, and on each side of obliques taking as many sets as you want every day, meaning today do 60 reps, tomorrow none, and so on. Or do 30 every day.

The third and final step is to get the abs to show. This requires you to, with all else in your life equal, burn an extra 300-500 calories a day. The easiest and fastest way to do this is to not eat it in the first place.

Muscle Building Guide - You Can Build Muscle Without Weights

Though most people do not even consider this option it is actually very easy to build muscles without the use of weights. There are various kinds of exercises which can be done so that the body can get the ideal shape that you desire and that without the use of weights. In ancient times the concept of weight lifting was very restricted but there were people who had well built bodies and muscles in spite of not lifting weights. There are many exercises which you can perform without the use of weights and still get some good muscles.

There are many advantages of building muscles without the use of weights. The main advantage of the same is that there are fewer risks to the body since weights are usually some of the main reasons for hurting and tearing of the muscles. These exercises have a lower chance of injury to the muscles and the body. Also these exercises can be performed anywhere and at anytime so even if you are on vacation or are unable to go the gym then you can try out these exercises at home without any kind of trouble.

But these exercises also need to be performed with the right breathing pattern and control so that you are able to exercise in the right manner and get the maximum results for the same. To begin these exercises you need to the simple warm up session which needs to be followed with the basics of muscle building exercises. These include the traditional simple forms of exercise that help in building muscles without weights like the sit ups, press ups etc. Also these exercises are the ideal options for those who are not used to exercising and can begin from here.

After these basic exercises are done the focus of the body should be on training the different muscles of the body. These exercises are beneficial and to see real results you will need to concentrate on specific muscle groups. For example, the biceps can be build through doing push ups which work out the muscles of the chest and the arms. The other exercise is doing dips on one arm, which lays focus on the muscles of each arm. Instead of weights bottles of water can also be used to intensify the movement.

The chest is one of the most important aspects of muscle building. These chest needs to be well built to provide the body with a well shaped structure. The muscles of the chest are called the pectoral muscles which are also referred to as the pecs. One of the most basic exercises to tone up these muscles is regular press ups. Increase in repetition of these press ups helps in intensification of the muscles.

The muscles of the shoulders benefit from the basic exercises like press ups, and inclined press ups. Pull ups can also be done to train the muscles of the shoulders. The grip of the hand while performing these exercises is essential so that the body does not go through any sudden imbalances or other injuries.

Burn More Fat by Building More Muscle

The best way to burn more fat is to build more muscle. Muscle uses extra calories to stay strong, so, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn and the more fat you lose. Incorporate these simple tips into your workout to boost your muscle mass.

Tighten Those Muscles

Tightening your muscles while exercising can build extra muscle fast without extra work. Try this during your next workout:

• Tighten your core muscles by drawing your stomach in. Pretend your belly button is getting closer and closer to your spine. Hold your stomach there while you exercise. You are sure to notice the extra burn, and if you do this regularly, soon enough, you'll also notice some extra definition.
• Just like your core muscles, you should clench your glute muscles, as well. Not only will this build extra muscle, but it will also lift and firm the butt area.

Check Your Posture

Most people don't think about posture when they think of building muscle and losing fat, but they should. Good posture makes your back and core muscles contract, building the muscles.

To achieve better posture, think of a string pulling your head upwards, straightening your neck, lifting your rib cage, and straightening your shoulders. To keep your good balance, imagine yourself trying to hold something between your shoulder blades while you exercise.

Try combining these tips with a good exercise plan. If you're conscious of your muscles, and make sure that your exercises are always giving them a good workout, you will end up leaner and trimmer than ever before.

Muscle Building Exercise

The greater effort you put into something the better results you will have. For a long time this has been a universally accepted maxim that has applied to many varied parts of life and from a historical perspective has usually been regarded as the standard in muscle building exercise. The more time you spend fine-tuning yourself using muscle building exercise, the more athletic you will become. Therefore it only makes sense that the longer you spend in the gym with muscle building exercise, the stronger and more muscular your body will become. Contrary to what you might think, the answer with respect to muscle building exercise is a resounding no! It is in this area of bodybuilding that popular wisdom goes straight down the plughole.

When we look at the muscle building exercise from its roots, it is very clear why this is so.

All processes that occur within the human body are centered around keeping you alive and healthy and this applies doubly to muscle building exercise. Through thousands of years of evolution the human body has become a finely tuned organism that can adapt efficiently to virtually all conditions that are placed upon it. Our body sends signals when we are hungry or thirsty, we get suntanned when high volumes of Ultra Violet rays are present, we build calluses to stop our skin from wearing and so forth. So what happens when we break down the body's muscle tissue in the gym using muscle building exercise? To put it simply, the muscles get bigger and stronger. By battling against resistance over the muscle's existing capacity we have posed a threat to the musculature. The body sees this as potentially harmful therefore as a intuitive adaptive response the muscles will increase in size (hypertrophy) effectively protecting the body against this threat. As we constantly intensify the resistance from week to week using muscle building exercise the body will keep on growing and adapting.

It appears to be simple and ultimately it is. However, the crucial thing to appreciate in relation to all of this is that the muscles can only grow healthier and stronger if they are given proper time to recover between muscle building exercise. If not given proper time to recover, the process of muscle growth simply cannot occur.

Your target in the gym needs to be to use muscle building exercise with the minimum amount of volume needed to give an adaptive response. When you have pushed your muscles over their existing capacity and have started your thousand year old evolutionary alarm system, you have done your job. Any further pressure to the body with muscle building exercise will merely intensify your time to recover, degrade the immune system and force your body into catabolic overdrive.

Most people do muscle building exercise far too often and with far more sets than they need to. High intensity muscle building exercise is much more stressful to the body than many people think. Many people structure their muscle building exercise programs in a manner that actually counteracts their gains and stops them from making the progress that they need. There are some guidelines to help you to achieve maximum gains using muscle building exercise:

Do muscle building exercise no more than three days every week.

Do not let your muscle building exercise last for longer then 60 minutes.

Perform between 5-8 sets of muscle building exercise for large muscle groups (thighs, back, chest) and between 2-4 sets of muscle building exercise for smaller muscle groups (biceps, shoulders, calves, triceps, abs).

Push all sets to the brink of muscular failure and concentrate on moving forward in either weight or reps each seven days. If you really train hard and keep a consistent schedule, doing muscle building exercise more often or for a longer time than this will be counterproductive to your gains.

Muscle building exercise, like all good things in life, should be done in moderation!

What You Should Know Before Buying Any Nutritional Supplements

A few years ago the options of choosing nutritional supplements were limited by the stock of your local stores and perhaps if you were lucky enough to know any manufacturers, then you would have more success. The internet has changed everything, although most people would argue whether it has really made our lives easier.

You can use the internet to search online for all kinds of vitamin and mineral food supplements that exactly match your body needs. You can even read reviews of other consumers who are satisfied with a particular manufacturer of nutritional supplements.

Before buying any kind of nutritional supplement keep some important points in mind. The first and foremost consideration should be the quality. You should always find a manufacturer that is certified in providing health services to customers. The product should conform to the strict quality standards that are set by the government and specialists. It's a good idea to ask a dietitian before going for a particular food supplement product. It's also important to remember that high quality food supplements are usually much more expensive than the low quality, cheaper products. As with most things, you get what you pay for!

You should always keep in mind the purpose you are buying a vitamin, mineral or other supplements for. Vitamin supplements are composed of many different types of vitamins, including vitamin A, B, C, D, K, folic acid, pyridoxine, thiamin, orotic acid and many others. Of these, vitamin B is further divided into many separate categories. Similarly mineral supplements are categorized as iron, copper, sodium, magnesium, calcium citrate and so on. Different vitamin and mineral supplements serve different purposes.

Antioxidants are a type of flavonoid product that helps to protect the body against free radicals (the by-products formed by certain activities of body cells). It is a popular anti-aging food supplement. Cranberry juice is also known to be another natural anti-aging food supplement.

There are also supplements for sexual enhancement, cure for arthritis, cure for skin cancer, and lowering cholesterol level in the body. Policosano is an important natural food supplement helpful in lowering cholesterol. There literally are supplements that can help everyone. Also arthritis sufferers are catered for, being that there are supplements that can actually prevent swelling and inflammation.

Vitamin food supplements often contain a vitamin (no surprise there), a mineral, herbal extracts, and amino acids. Some of these supplements are popular treatments for all kinds of cancer, especially skin, lung and prostate cancer. These products can come in both liquid and tablet form depending on your personal preference.

Supplements for sexual enhancement are also rich in vitamins and some therapeutic herbs. Sexual problems can be caused by many different things, it can be caused by psychological, or physiological reasons. Although it is widely known that most of the sexual problems faced by men and women are psychological, there are sexual enhancement products available for all kinds of sexual problems. Energy and vitality supplements are available for both men and women to help them enhance their love life.

Various herbal products for the treatment of obesity, under-development of breasts, and un-timely ovulation are available. You can search on the Internet to find a particular kind of product and read its description to decide whether it's suitable for you or not. Omega 3 is a popular and well known food supplement.

There are unlikely to be any side effects associated with the use of these supplements because they are extracted from natural plants. However it is still advisable to consult a health professional before buying any kind of nutritional supplement. Keep the above-mentioned factors in mind and also do a little research of your own to find more about the nutritional supplements available today.