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Do you like to switch up your workout routine so you don’t get bored and you don’t hit a plateau with your gains (or losses, depending on what your goals are)?
If you’re like me, you get bored easily with your routine if you’re following the same plan over and over. I have a great workout you can try that will change all that!
High Rep Sets
For two weeks,…
An oft-forgotten benefit of exercise is its effects on bone health. As adults get older, bones become more brittle and develop pores. While women are more likely to develop osteoporosis, this condition is also common in men, as is osteoarthritis.
Interestingly, the worst thing you can do when you develop osteoarthritis or osteoporosis is to become less active. An abundance of research has demonstrated that resistance training is effective for…
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It’s been 2012 for almost three weeks. How are your New Year’s resolutions going so far? If you’re the type to use the New Year as an excuse to redefine your fitness goals, I imagine you’re still mostly on track. But if you haven’t been severely challenged yet, or haven’t thought about abandoning your resolution altogether, you likely will in the near future.
The one-month period is a critical measuring…
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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…
With the holidays upon us, I though I might reach out to Tweakfit readers, Santa Claus, and anyone else who might be listening and provide the top fitness-related products I’d love to have this year. Here’s my list, and why I know they will help me get in better shape this year.
1. Garmin Forerunner 910XT
Why: It’s really, really cool. With all the features of its predecessors, the 910…
Ever wonder why you seem to prefer those early morning runs, or tend to work out harder late at night? A recent review, published in the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, highlights yet another factor that can possibly be contributing to your ability to perform your best in the gym. A group of researchers from New Zealand believe that by understanding your body’s natural rhythms and response to light,…
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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A quick internet search of weight loss programs will provide more information on the subject than any normal human being could possibly digest. From low-carb diets, protein-based diets, rotating carbohydrate intake, and popular weight-loss programs such as Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers and Nutrisystem, you won’t have any trouble finding sites that claim they’ve discovered the secret to losing weight.
I’ve written about some of these diets in other posts, but…
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While women and men tend to differ in body size and composition, as well as hormonal characteristics, they do not differ in measures of relative strength, nor do they differ in their responses to exercise. The same weight loss principles, therefore, apply to both sexes.
Is There a “Best Weight Loss Program?”
Much debate exists regarding the best weight loss programs. Advocates of Atkins, Paleo, Ideal Protein, and other low-carb…
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…
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The goal of building muscle in weight lifting is known as hypertrophy. Different than simply increasing strength or power, hypertrophy is an increase in the size of the muscle’s contractile area as a result of greater contractile proteins and a greater number and size of myofibrils in each fiber. Unlike maximal strength training, hypertrophy is best-achieved with just moderate loads. Therefore, to build the most muscle, you don’t always need…
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Have a big competition coming up? Or are you simply an active person and want to eat in a way that will provide a maximum amount of energy for the day? For optimal energy, you need to master the art of the pre-competition meal. Much of the pre-competition meal is common sense, but some popular misconceptions exist as well. Follow these guidelines to have your body ready to perform at…
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Have you had a difficult time losing the last 10lbs? Do you feel that no matter what you try, fat does not come off your body? The truth is many people struggle with fat loss. Whether it is because of a misconception of what to do, or that they are just not applying the principles of fat loss properly, shedding pounds has been complicated for the masses. One of the best…
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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…
In his book, “The Essence of Bodyweight Training,” Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist Juan Carlos Santana regales of the time he and his fellow coaches designed and implemented one of the most successful conditioning programs ever for a large high school in Florida. Several of the athletic teams at this high school went on to win championships that year, and Santana was lauded for his fitness contributions. There was just…
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As I write this, the rain is coming down so hard on my Pacific Northwest home that I fear it will collapse. The atmosphere’s just abysmal and the sky’s so dark, in fact, that I flipped on the news to make sure my clocks weren’t wrong. Yes, it’s actually 7:30 AM and not the 4:30 AM it appears to be. Weather like this really gets me down, and whenever the comforting…
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By now, you’re probably in the fitness minority if you haven’t heard about Crossfit and the functional fitness revolution. Elaborate gyms lined with row after row of various exercise machines and cardio equipment have taken a back seat to simple “box” gyms with nothing more than some medicine balls, free-weights, ropes, kettlebells and maybe some rowing ergometers. But how effective is functional fitness? Can rusty kettlebells and old ropes really…
