If you are a newbie or not a regular visitor to a gym, there are some unwritten rules that you should follow so that you don’t piss off any of the serious lifters. These are rules to live by that will make you a better lifter and gain the respect of the gym contigent. These are the first 10 commandments of the Gym Etiquette Bible.
Nar is here to lay it down for you, no BS. After being in the game awhile, he’s seen some things and got some opinions. Not everyone wants to hear the truth, but the truth is what makes you better. Every Wednesday you’ll get a dose of reality from someone not afraid to tell you like it is, no matter who you are or what its about. So, listen up and take notes, this might hurt…
In the quest to get bigger, faster, stronger and leaner, lifters turn to resistance training to get them to their goals. Providing resistance against movements can be accomplished in many ways. Isometric movements are where the body part is holding still against a force. Isotonic movements are where the body part is moving against the force. The overall goal for resistance training is to gradually and progressively overload the musculoskeletal system so it gets stronger.
In order to maximize the fat burning process during cardio while sparing muscle, the goal is to keep your heart rate at 65-75% of your maximum heart rate (MHR). Heart Rate can be monitored by pressing gently on one side of the neck with your index and middle finger until the pulse is felt at the carotid artery. Count each beat you feel to determine your heart rate. You can count for 60 seconds, or choose a smaller interval and multiply the value to determine a per minute count. Your maximum heart rate is calculated as 220-Age(years). So if you are 20, your max heart rate is 200. So 65% of your MHR would be 130, and your optimal fat burning range would be 130-150 (65-75%). Any higher than the max of this range will contirbute more to cardio endurance and increases in your VO2Max which is your maximum oxygen intake during physical activity. Although this is an important attribute to improve, it does not affect your fat stores as efficiently and can even lead to muscle atrophy if proper energy stores are not available.
In the gym, you can keep your heart rate in the optimal fat burning range simply by walking on a treadmill at a low incline or performing low impact elliptical, stepping or cycling machines. Any low exertion activities outside of the gym will also get you in this range. To get the most out of your workout, exercises should be performed, starting off, for 30 minutes. Later on, you can up your exercise duration to an hour to burn maximum calories.
Anyone who knows anything about Health and Fitness knows that the number one enemy of any dieter or trainer is sugar. High levels of Glucose, Sucrose or Fructose causes fat storage, insulin sensitivity and increased hunger, eventually leading to obesity and possibly diabetes. But sugar is so prevalent in most food we eat, how do we eliminate the bad and substitute something good?
Many people eat more than 3 times a day. They understand that smaller, more frequent meals help the body burn fat and provide the body with a constant flow of quality nutrients for growth. What most people don’t know is that some meals are more important that others.
Next time you go to the gym, look around and see how many people are carrying a notepad and pen to write down their results for the day. My bet is that MAYBE one out of ten is diligently writing down everything they do.
If you’ve been watching the news for the past couple years now, you have seen (and probably felt) the impact of the financial recession that has
engulfed the United States. People are losing their life savings and their income in these times of distress. Trying to keep their house and still pay bills and make ends meet is becoming harder and harder every day. The morale of the American public, as a whole, has taken a hit and hitting healthcare even harder.
If you are feeling like you’ve hit a wall with your training, try the super high volume world of German Volume Training. In a nutshell, it is 10 sets of 10, all out, of the basic exercises.
For example, on leg day, do 10 sets of 10 for squats, leg curl and calf raise. That’s an easy 300 reps and should only take you an hour. It’s not easy and it’s a challenge to keep your focus for that long, but you’ll be feeling it the next couple of days.
Other exercises you want to include – bench press, military press, barbell curl, pullups (if you can do 10 sets of 10 chinup, even better), barbell shrug, skullcrushers, close grip bench or dips, wrist curls. The goal is to take the compound movements for each muscle group and perform 10 sets of 10. You can add or remove exercises as you feel comfortable.
Be ready for a shock to the system and a new level in your training and mindset.
Nar has been in the game a long time and has seen and experienced it all. He’ll bring his knowledge of training, nutrition and supplementation to the table, as well as tips, tricks and experiences he’s learned along the way.
Feel free to hit him up with any questions or comments about him or his contributions.