5 Upper Body Exercises That Should Be Included In Your Routine

Posted by Chad in Fitness - (Comments Off)

Maintaining muscle balance and posture should be at the forefront of your exercise routine. Including the following five exercises in your routine will help combat common postural and muscular balance issues.

1. Push-Ups: Most individuals performing the majority of their pressing movements with their backs pinned to a bench.  This restricts protraction of the scapula and may result in underdevelopment of the serratus anterior.  Including push-ups in your routine will promote a better balance of the muscles that act on the scapula.

2. Prone Cobra: This is a great postural exercise that helps knock out several common postural faults, including excessive internal rotation of the humerus, forward head posture, and thoracic kyphosis.

3. Face Pull: A functional external rotation exercise that helps correct muscle imbalance between the internal and external rotators of the humerus.

4. Wall Angel: This is another exercise that is helpful in maintaining the integrity of scapular muscular and posture.

5. Dumbbell External Rotations from Knee: This is a great exercise to help isolate and strengthen the external rotators of the humerus.  It is particularly useful for those who spend a lot of time doing bench presses and its variations.

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Interval training for fat loss

Posted by Chad in Fitness | Weight Loss | Workouts - (Comments Off)

The benefits of interval training are pretty common knowledge these days…increased fat loss, improved VO2, etc.  However, the proper way to perform them is not.  When most people I talk to tell me they’re doing intervals, they usually describe something along the lines of: 5 minute jog on the treadmill followed by 5 minutes at a higher speed/elevation, followed by 5 minutes at an even higher speed/elevation etc.  While technically this is “interval training,” there is a more effective way to go about it. (more…)

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Lower Body Tri-Set to Melt the Fat at Home!

Posted by Chad in Fitness | Weight Loss | Workouts - (Comments Off)

Here is a simple tri-set for the lower body that can be done at home.  It’s sure to get your thighs burning and help melt away the unwanted fat!

1. Reverse Lunge: Perform for 60 seconds and without resting move to exercise #2.

2. Lateral Lunge: Perform for 60 seconds and without resting move to exercise #3.

3. Squat: Perform for 60 seconds.

After completing the Squat, rest for 60 seconds and repeat the sequence two more times.  Your legs will be begging for mercy! :-)

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Understanding Repetitions

Posted by Chad in Fitness - (Comments Off)

What I am about to share is pretty basic knowledge for those in the fitness industry. However, I realize not everyone who exercises (strength training specifically) puts in a decent amount of time educating themselves on how to go about it (hence the reason I have a job!).  So, for those who are not up to speed on the training effect of a specific repetition bracket, let’s get you caught up.

First, what is a repetition?  A repetition is the act of performing a given exercise.  Take push-ups for example.  When you lower yourself to the ground and push yourself back up, that is a repetition.  Repetitions influence the adaptations you get from an exercise session.  Generally speaking, the training effect for a given repetition bracket is as follows: (more…)

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Don’t Blame Genetics for Our Weight Issues

Posted by Chad in Fitness | Weight Loss - (Comments Off)

One thing that comes up quite frequently when discussing obesity and weight loss is the role our genetics plays.  Most people are quick to point the finger and say, “It’s my genetics” or “it’s in the genes” when figuring out the determining factor in our weight issues.  While some people may disagree with me, I’m telling you it’s not our genetics!

While genetic makeup may predispose you to being overweight, it is not the determining factor of whether or not you will become overweight.  Genetics are heavily influenced by environmental factors (ie. diet & exercise).  I think we can all agree that genetics have changed very little since the early 1900′s, yet incidence of obesity/overweight, and the chronic diseases which accompany it (ie. heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc.), has skyrocketed!  Why?  Our nutrition (mainly) and exercise habits. (more…)

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A Different Approach to Caloric Restriction & Weight Loss

Posted by Chad in Nutrition | Weight Loss - (Comments Off)

Reducing the number of calories consumed helps many people lose weight.  No doubt about it.  However, reducing the amount of food you eat also decreases the nutrients your body is receiving.  In an environment where many of the foods consumed are of low nutritional value, reducing the amount taken in increases the chances of nutrient deficiency.  So how do you tackle this issue? Build your diet around whole foods.

Processed foods have a lousy calorie/nutrient ratio.  They contain a lot of calories, but provide very few nutrients.  Therefore, they have to be over-consumed in order to get the nutrients your body needs (and they usually are of poor quality). (more…)

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