Let’s Get Physical

There’s no better inspiration than the Austrian oak that is Arnold Schwarzenegger when you’re trying to build muscle. He’s an actor, a politician, a comedian (albeit unintentionally) and of course, an example to all men wanting to build muscle.

A former Mr Universe (on multiple occasions), Arnold is a shining beacon to us all with his attitude towards exercise and perfection. He even worked out twice per day when he was on the set of Conan the Barbarian.

If you can get hold of a copy of his very hard to find film, Pumping Iron, you’ll be able to see the true Arnold and learn from his advice with regards to exercise, and building muscle.

One of the hardest things to do in relation to going to the gym and working out is finding the motivation to do it. If you get home from work after 6:00pm, tired from a long day, and look forward to some relaxation the last thing you want to do is leave the house and head down to the gym.

One way to help your motivation is to train with a friend, a friend who has a similar goal to you, whether that be weight loss or muscle gain. This way, if you’re feeling a lack of motivation you’ll be spurred on by your friend to get off the sofa, put the glass of wine down and head for the gym.

It’ll work both ways too, so you can help each other stay motivated.

If you find you’ve been working out for some months, using the same workout regime, and you’re just not seeing the results you wanted, it could be that your muscles have become used to your routine.

Many people don’t realise that to build that extra bit of muscle, you don’t necessarily have to up your weights or increase your number of reps, instead you can just mix up your routine and do your workout in a different order.

For example, if you always start with your chest, then work your back, move on to your shoulders and then do your biceps every time you hit the gym, your body will become accustomed to the routine, and will know what to expect. If you swap your routine every few weeks, maybe change to work your shoulders first, then you back, chest and biceps, you’ll find your body gets shocked and reacts differently to the exercise.
You’ll build muscle faster and really see the benefits.

So if you’re having trouble in the gym, don’t do anything drastic like doubling your workout or opting for protein supplements, just vary your workout. You’ll be surprised the affect it will have.

As with most things physical activities there is a risk of injury. Whether it’s your first time exercising or you haven’t exercised in a while, always consult a GP before undertaking any exercise programme. This is particularly important if you:

•    are over 35 and smoke,
•    have diabetes, or at risk of heart disease,
•    are over 40 and inactive,
•    have high blood pressure,
•    have chest pains or any severe discomfort when you exercise,
•    have high cholesterol,
•    have difficulty breathing during mild exertion, i.e. carrying out daily activities.

Preventing injuries

Regardless of your level of fitness, there is always a risk of injury. The following are some precautions to follow to reduce the risk of injury.

Warm up and warm down

Warm up before exercise to get the blood flowing, gently raise the heart rate and warm up the muscles making them more responsive and supple. Once warm you can then stretch them safely. It is important to gradually warm down your muscles and allow your heart rate to return to normal.

Don’t overdo it

Your body needs to gradually adapt to exercise, especially your muscles and joints. Start exercising steadily and allow it to build up gradually. An adult of normal weight is recommended to do a minimum of half an hour a day, five times a week. Obese should aim for 45 – 60 minutes a day.

Make sure your technique is correct

Seek advice from experienced professional on the correct ways to perform your chosen exercise.

Use the right equipment

Where the right clothing and use the correct equipment to avoid any discomfort. This is particularly important when the exercise involves impact on the joints etc.

Injuries

Never ignore an injury. Always have it treated as soon as it occurs. A minor injury and easily turn more serious if left untreated.

From those of us who workout and even those of us who can’t be bothered,  we all want flat stomachs with abs showing but don’t want to do the abdominal exercises. A flat stomach with a hint of muscle rippling beneath it is the Holy Grail of fitness, but to reach it you have to do the right abs exercises.

The function of the abdominal muscle originates at the sternum and ribcage and inserts into the pelvis. It functions to allow you to twist and bend the upper body and support the upper body and maintain posture. Strong abs is necessary for all-over body strength and they look good!

There are a lot of exercises to choose from but I believe I might have the best 3 here for you!

First place
Bicycle manoeuvre - Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground and place your hands beside your head. Bring your knees up to about a 45-degree angle and slowly go through a bicycle pedal motion. Touch your left elbow to your right knee, then your right elbow to your left knee. Breathe evenly throughout the movement.

Second place
Captain’s chair - This is one of the few on the “most effective” list that actually involves gym equipment. Start with legs straight and slowly lift your knees toward your chest, then gently return them back to the starting position.

Third Place
Gym ball crunch - Sit on the ball with your feet flat on the floor. Lie back until your thighs and torso are parallel with the floor. Contract your abs and raise your upper body to no more than 45 degrees. To focus more on the oblique’s (side) muscles, move your feet closer together.

Walking

Because walking in a natural form of movement, we take it for granted and don’t recognise it as a form of exercise. It’s the easiest and cheapest form of light cardiovascular exercise, a weight bearing activity, meaning that it will help to improve the heart and lungs whilst helping to improve and maintain bone density. Walking is a low impact exercise for the lower body so t won’t cause stress on the joints.

Running and jogging

These are the most common and effective ways to exercise vigorously. The difference between the two is jogging is more slow paced and running is a more high impact which will help bone density but puts more stress on the joints particularly if you are overweight. Always consult your GP first. Gradually build up from walking, to a brisk walk until you are physically able to run. As you improve try to increase the time and distance.

Swimming

Swimming is another form of vigorous exercise which give all over body tone as well as cardiovascular exercise and is effective at fat burning. Your body is supported so it’s low impact and doesn’t put stress on the joints.

Cycling

Cycling is a good cardiovascular exercise which is a non-weight bearing exercise making it a good exercise in particular for people with bone or joint conditions.

Dance and aerobics

Dancing is a cardiovascular exercise of varying intensities which can help to improve balance, strength and coordination. Aerobics simply uses dance movements for a vigorous workout.

Weight training

Weight training is a vigorous exercise used to build body mass, strength, size and endurance. This is done using machines or free weights (barbells and dumbbells). Weight training is an anaerobic (without oxygen) form of exercise and is not as beneficial to the heart as aerobic or cardiovascular exercise, but it does help to increase overall fitness. Anaerobic exercises are most effective when combined with other types of exercise.

Yoga and Pilates

These types of light to moderate exercise improve balance, flexibility, circulation and posture. Yoga uses a combination of meditation, breathing and posture exercises and can be tailored to meet the needs of those with conditions such as asthma, arthritis and back pain. Pilates is similar, but focuses on the core abdominal and back muscles.

Exercise is when the body physically with the aim of achieving a beneficial level of health and fitness, both physically and mentally.

There are 3 main classifications of fitness intensity:

• is easy enough to be able to speak at the same time. Examples of this will include going for a walk, or doing some light housework, or gardening.
•    Moderate exercise done correctly should make you feel slightly out of breath and slightly worn out, but not unbearable. Examples are going for a brisk walk, or hill walking.
•    Vigorous exercise should make you breathe more quickly, and feel very difficult, but not enough to feel like you’re reaching your absolute limits. Jogging, cycling, swimming and weight training are all vigorous exercises.

The overall aim is to be exercising vigorously but always start with light exercise until you naturally progress to more vigorous activities. Before starting any exercise routine always consult your Doctor to assess your fitness.

Getting exercise doesn’t necessarily mean you have to join a gym. There are different ways to improve fitness by exercise:

Exercise is essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Regular exercise does not only help to maintain overall fitness and manage weight loss but it can lower the risk of many conditions which may be life threatening.

For those of us who exercise regularly, it is expected that we are much more likely to live longer and enjoy a better quality of life. In support of this there have been studies that have shown that being physically unfit is just as harmful to health as smoking and binge drinking in terms of lowering life expectancy.

Regular exercise can also be beneficial to mental and emotional wellbeing. The chemicals and hormones that are released in the brain as a result of exercise can reduce the effects of stress and improve your mood.

With all the known health benefits, it is not hard to see why people would be encouraged to exercise. However, the general consensus is exercise is too expensive or simply takes up too much time, when in reality all that is required to maintain good health is as little as 30 minutes a day of moderate activity, such as a brisk walk, or simply being busy around the house or garden can be enough to improve health and fitness. There are various ways to exercise and there is something for everyone and any kind of lifestyle.

I’m always asked by friends to buddy up and train in gym, to push each other to stay motivated! Stuff that!! I’m a complete lone ranger! I motivate myself with my music and by keeping track of my workouts day after day, week after week, month after…. you get the point.

I find that when you train with friends, especially good friends you’ll talk about social things and might lose your focus on what you’re doing. However this is a bit of an unfair generalisation for all but I find this can be often the case.

It’s not all bad training with friends though. I find they are always there to spot (providing they know how much to spot you) and can give you that push to do more with more intensity (however if you’re not sensible this could lead to injury, and it’s always the bench press when this happens!!).

In short it’s each to their own but try both and figure out which is best for you and take it from there. If you train with a friend just be sure they are like minded!

For every session of fitness planned there should a goal or purpose preset that you’re trying to achieve, whether it’s aerobic fitness, muscle tone & strength or flexibility, but regardless of this you should always try to incorporate all bits in so no area of your fitness suffers.
So firstly decide which aspect of your fitness is the primary goal and then we can balance the other aspects around this. For example when trying to improve strength, don’t neglect endurance work. For beginners you should always balance you workout to involve strength, endurance and flexibility.
How is this done?

Warm-up

This gets your body ready for exercise by increasing the body’s core temperature and encouraging flexibility in the joints. Slowly move your joints through their natural path of movement and then perform a gentle aerobic activity for about five minutes. Something like rowing, brisk walk or jog, stepping or cycling.

Aerobic exercise

Target the aerobic workout to last between 20 – 50 minutes (beginners need to start from the lower end or less and work their way up) at a steady pace leaving you breathless with a light sweat. Gradually increase your intensity and duration of the workout. When you are finished always stretch afterwards unless you are strength trainings afterwards.

Strength training

For this part of the workout, the aim is to work all major muscle groups. Split them up across a few days, about 3 – 4 days a week using weights you can only lift between 8 and 12 times (reps)so that the last couple require effort, before you need to rest. A good work out would target a different body part at a time. Always ask a gym instructor or personal trainer for advice.

Stretching

This is the last and probably most important part of the work out. While doing strength training and aerobic exercise the muscles can contract and shorten. It’s important to stretch them so they don’t become tight and mobility is restricted. Also when tight this increases risk of injury. A session of stretching should last about 10 minutes holding for 15 – 30 seconds at a time each stretch.

It is possible to do all aspects of fitness in under an hour. Try doing these 3 times a week at least for great results.