Hello tweakfit.com followers. After the hustle and bustle of the holidays and a recent move to the beautiful island of Oahu, I am back with more tips to keep you all fit and fierce. As I am writing this post, I am in a hotel room in Honolulu, since the lease for my apartment does not begin until February. One of my biggest challenges over the past week has been…
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Caffeine is that magical drug that wakes many of us up in the morning and keeps us alert late in the day. But did you know that this widely-consumed drug can also enhance your exercise performance? In fact, athletes have been using caffeine as a performance-enhancer for more than 30 years, and many nutritional supplements and beverages are effective primarily for their caffeine content. Caffeine is a stimulant, and is…
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If you’re seeking to get stronger, build muscle, reduce your risk of injury, improve your posture, or just generally feel better, weightlifting is an effective means to accomplish these goals. Sometimes walking into a gym for the first time can be overwhelming with so many machines and stations available. Here are some helpful tips to get you started, as well as a sample program you can follow in your first…
Working at a health club for the past two years has provided me with a little extra insight on people’s work out routines. With 2,000+ members at our club, I see just about the same few hundred people every day. The others? I’m sure some are here in the evenings after I leave work or perhaps just come on the weekends. However, there are also quite a few who simply…
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There is much confusion in fitness centres regarding what the best methods are for reducing body fat. So many people are using terrible training and nutritional protocols that I cringe every time I step foot in a gym! This article aims to help abolish some of the common misconceptions people have regarding fat loss, as well as offer some appropriate guidelines to achieving a more toned physique.…
Recent research (e.g., Willardson, 2007) highlights the numerous benefits of core stability training for a variety of outcomes. A strong core region takes pressure off the lumbar spine and can prevent injury to the lower back. Core stability training is becoming increasingly popular in sports conditioning programs as well, as it can improve the transfer of force between the upper and lower body. Core stability can also promote better balance,…
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Gyms are great. I love putting on gym clothes, walking to my car, driving 20 minutes, finding a parking sport, doing 30 minutes of cardio, performing a weightlifting circuit, and then heading back out in the cold to drive home again (it’s really cold where I live right now). Since I have so much time to kill in my life, I try to take a one hour workout and turn…
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An increasing body of research (e.g., Karp et al., 2006; Pritchett et al., 2009) is supporting the effects of chocolate milk as an effective post-workout beverage. One group of researchers from Indiana University investigated the effects of drinking chocolate milk following a workout in a group of elite cyclists. Following a series of interval workouts, one group of athletes consumed servings of chocolate milk while a control consumed another commercial…
Running requires endurance and flexibility, but strength also plays a significant role in running performance — especially for women. Because women carry the majority of their weight in their hips and lower body, strength in these areas can enhance their running stride and efficiency, while minimizing fatigue and injury.
You can improve both muscular strength and endurance in the gym through resistance training. To improve endurance, however, you first need…
We’ve all likely heard of the concept of periodization with respect to planning our exercise programs. For those who haven’t, periodization is the systematic variation in volume and intensity of exercise in order to reach a high level of performance at the right time of the year. Originally developed by Dr. Tudor Bompa to allow rowers to “peak” during the most important competition of the year, the common exerciser can…
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The rise in “functional” exercises in recent years, or that which emphasizes exercises that transfer to real-life movements, has produced a nation of fitter, more athletic women. The days of women going to the gym, lightly working out on a cardio machine, and performing a few resistance training exercises on machines are becoming a thing of the past. Instead, more and more women are performing high-intensity circuit training, and even…
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Strength training workouts are important components of any sport, but is particularly crucial in football. With the life expectancy of a football player who has played in the NFL for at least three years being more than ten years younger than the national average, having sufficient strength is essential not just for performance, but to protect from injury.
All positions in football require strength, but football strength training workouts vary…
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Timed sets in the weight room are perfect for fat loss. This training method ensures that you will be working at a high intensity because you are not limited by reps and sets like in traditional workouts, but rather the clock. There is no limit to the total amount of reps you can do or the intensity you can reach. The following article will examine why timed sets work, some…
This is the 2nd “30 minute workout” of the month. It is meant to build on the “30 Minute Exercise Ball Workout – Beginner to Intermediate“. This workout is for those of you who have been practicing the beginner version and want to advance the challenge, or for those of you who thought the last one was too easy. Some of the more difficult exercises from the first workout are…
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This month’s “30 minute workout” is for all of you out there who love your exercise ball. We’ve explored great ways to work your core using body weight exercises. Now let’s take it one step farther and use an unstable surface (the ball) to increase the demand and improve your stability and balance. This is the first of 2 workouts, and is intended for people who are beginning to explore…
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We’re all pressed for time. Here is a quick, efficient, workout that will target your whole body and take 30 minutes or less. You don’t even need a gym, just your own body and a stopwatch. This is a combination of static holds and dynamic movements. Before you start, make sure you have a good exercise mat to support your joints and prevent slippage.
Follow this circuit, performing each exercise…
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WHY CIRCUIT TRAIN?
There are many benefits to circuit training. It is fun, can be performed alone or in groups, allows for a large variety of exercises/movements, is a great way to get a whole-body workout, and can expedite any training session! Most importantly, circuit training exercise routines are functional, as they target both our aerobic and anaerobic metabolic systems.
Energy Metabolism 101
When we train, our bodies function along a continuum…
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Core stability training is designed to strengthen your torso with its wide range of muscles from abdominal muscles, internal and external obliques and the muscles tat are running along the spine. Why should they need to be strengthened?
A balanced gym exercise routine to strengthen your core will not only improve your overall fitness and feeling fit, but also help avoid back and neck pain and even injuries that can…
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Having strong and healthy core muscles is one of the keys to helping you get and stay in shape. The only problem is that Core Stability Exercises are often confused with or mistakenly reduced to abdominal exercises, so many people do not get the results they desire. This might be a widespread misconception because the strong, sexy “6-pack ABS” have been marketed into a major symbol for fitness and attractiveness for both…
I previously mentioned that the balance ball is my favorite exercise equipment for home use on an earlier post on weight lifting to burn fat. In this post, I will tell you why I like the balance/stability ball so much.
Bodyweight Training
I am a fan of incorporating bodyweight training into workouts. Why? Because you should be able to master and control your own body weight before attempting to control…
