Abdominal insights

First and foremost, if you want to lose your beer belly or muffin top, start with a food diary…


This blog and the exercises below may help with losing the layers above your 6 pack but by no means are they the most effective exercises to lose weight.

What these exercises will do, is help you develop core strength which provides benefits such as improving balance, evening out muscle imbalances that can be created through underworked muscle groups during strength training and finally improved sports performance.

The abdominals can be categorised into 4 general sections that can be targeted through core workouts; Upper, inner, outer and lower abdominals. Here is a breakdown of which exercises can target each section;



Upper

Crunches
Cable crunches
Decline crunches

Inner
Planks

Outer/Obliques
Plate twists
Oblique crunches

Lower
Hanging leg raises
Lying leg raises
Reverse crunches.

Post your favourite ab exercises or workouts in the comments section below!!!

Video Fridays - uncomfortable vs exhaustion

If you havent checked out Muscle Prodigy TV yet on you tube, do yourself a favour and have a look, especially if you sometimes need a little bit of extra motivation to help you either get to the gym or work that little bit harder.. They definatley know how to drive a point with their motivational video's!! check their channel out at http://www.youtube.com/user/MuscleProdigyTV...

But for now, here's our video for this Friday thanks to Muscle Prodigy TV...

At what point do you give up? uncomfortable or exhausted?

Back to basics

Before completing a back workout you need to define what your goals are in particular with a back session because of the different outcomes that you can be working towards without even knowing it...

There are basically 4 diffent area's you can target while completing a back workout, mix and match the exercises listed below from each category to make up your ideal back workout.

When devising a back workout, you generally want to make sure that you are covering all of your bases in terms of targeting all area's of your back at some point in your workout!

Upper back width
Pull ups
Wide grip lat pulldown
Barbell bent over row

Seated cable row                                         

Upper back thickness
V-bar pulldown
Seated cable rows
One arm Dumbell rows

Lower back thickness
Barbell deadlifts
Stiff legged barbell deadlifts
Back extensions (or hyperextensions)

Lower back width
T-bar row
Straight arm pulldown
Bent over barbell row
One arm dumbell row

Video Fridays - ARNIE!!!!

This video is a classic!!! What an inspiration he is!

8 Benefits of Group Fitness!

1. Saving Time: Forget watching the clock! The pace of group fitness classes makes the time fun and the energy level of the instructor makes you forget you’re working hard (Sometimes!). Looking at the clock or the time on your exercise or cardio machine is a thing of the past.



2. Make it Social: Group fitness is a great way to meet like-minded and like-motivated individuals. You’ll find you share common goals and interest which can be a great motivator to work hard in class and create

 3. MOTIVATION!: Having someone telling you to work harder and encouraging you to take your fitness to the next level will get you there. The instructor sets the tone, while having others in class offers another level of motivation through a tiny bit of competition and camaraderie.


4. Challenge: Our #4 benefit of motivation ties into the benefit of being challenged to work harder. You want to keep pace, meaning you will be challenged to work harder. Studies have proven that working out with a group, results in a bigger calorie burn.


5. The NO-BOREDOM FACTOR: Is there anything you CAN’T find with group fitness? Pilates, yoga, bootcamp, spin, boxing, circuits, TRX, Zumba, Pump and Step, just to name a few. Whatever your flavor or need, chances are you can find a class or encourages someone to start one.


6. Learn Something New: A good class and a great instructor will show you how to work your body and muscles properly. Trying something different challenges both your mind and body, two things that ward off the effects of aging.

7. Safety: When beginning a new or different fitness routine, feeling safe and being safe are key. Instructors will be able to help explain and model what you’re doing, how to do it, and what you should be feeling. Never hesitate to ask questions or as for alternative exercises if you need additional assistance.


8. Join the Group, or Go Your Own Way: An experienced group fitness instructor will offer modifications that allow for different fitness levels among the participants. Most classes will offer beginner, intermediate, and advanced exercise options. Make sure to come at least 5 minutes early when you’re taking a new class and introduce yourself to the instructor. Developing a relationship with your instructor is key to finding the workout that will challenge you in a safe manner.

Superset arms workout

Get your tickets to the “gun show” with this amazing arms workout using supersets

Do a warm up of 15 reps of each of the exercises in the first superset listed

Depending on your goals, complete between 8 and 12 reps of each exercise and 3 rounds of each superset

Superset 1
EZ curl bar lying tricep extensions
And
Ez curl bar bicep curls


Superset 2
Close grip bench press
And
Incline bench dumbbell curls


Superset 3
Dips
And
Hammer curls

ENJOY!!!

Video Fridays

Introducing video fridays!!!

From now on our blog will upload a video every friday, because lets face it no-one wants to read a blog on a friday but everyone will watch a video!

The video's we post will vary from motivation to training and nutrition but they will always be informative, interesting and inspiring!!!

let us know in the comments section below what video's you would like to see!!!

ENJOY!