Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Take Advantage of Today’s Revolution in the Science of Strength and Fitness


The current revolution in health and fitness makes it easier than ever to get the most out of your work-out. A review of abdominal exercises recently published in Strength and Conditioning Journal (1) looked at the conflicting advice around crunches, sit ups, or avoiding any type of spinal flexion. They found the core and abdominal muscles are best worked, and spinal health improved, with a variety of exercises like planks and crunches in different planes; but not everyday, and not with high numbers of repetitions. The idea of extending out planks to well over 60 seconds at a time, or doing hundreds of situps, can place unusual loads on the spine. 

Whether you have time to get to the gym or not, it’s simple to find good, solid exercises that focus on your problem areas and produce great results. Exercising at home means you can work out on your own schedule. Make that determination to stay fit and conditioned in between gym visits. Below, I share some tips on how to do some of the most popular at-home exercises correctly, so you can get the most out of your exercise time.
Push up 



Push-ups - One of the best ways to build chest, shoulders and triceps, whilst developing core strength. The basic push-up can be made easier (knees on the ground) or harder (feet elevated).
Dips - Placing hands behind you on a bench or seat, legs extended out in front, slowly lower yourself until your upper arms are about parallel to the ground, then squeeze up to return to the start.





Bodyweight squat to thighs parallel
Squats - Keeping heels flat on the ground, push your bum backwards as you lower it to the ground – as if sitting on an imaginary chair, before squeezing it to return to a standing position. Great all round exercise for your thighs, bum, calves. Harder version: place hands behind your head while squatting down.
Lunges - Like a one-legged squat. Put one foot a big step forward from a standing position. Keeping your front heel firmly planted and front knee from going past your toes, lower your back knee slowly till it nearly touches the ground. Press through your front leg to lift the back knee up again to starting position.





Side plank - hold a straight line through the spine, hips and neck
for intervals of 10-15 seconds, repeated, on each side 
Crunches - Lie on your back on a padded surface, raising knees to a 45-degree bend and keep your heels flat on the ground. Extend your arms out directly by your sides. Aim to curl up slowly with your torso, so that you push your fingertips towards your feet a few centimeters, then slowly uncurl to repeat.
Chin-ups or pull-ups - These require a secure bar somewhere and may be very difficult to do when starting but stay at it to build up strong back, bicep and forearm muscles.






The science of sports, exercise and good nutrition work together to help you achieve optimal health in the shortest amount of time. Yes, it does take commitment, but the pay-off is massively rewarding. Working out and muscle building is all about making that decision to take a higher path than most others and this path requires a bit of sacrifice at times.

Though muscle building has gotten a bad rap with steroid abuse and body image concerns, it’s a healthy pursuit with big rewards, so long as you don’t take things to extreme.

(1) Strength & Conditioning Journal: August 2011 - Volume 33 - Issue 4 - pp 8-18

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