Almost all of us have one side that isn't as strong as the other. Usually this is our dominant (writing) side for the upper body and, interestingly enough, the opposite side for your lower body. This is because we tend to cross-brace with our opposite leg for our working arm.
At any rate, it's not usually much of an issue until you start working out in the gym. Then, the difference can be frustrating, particularly when you look in the mirror as you progress and see more developed muscles on one side. It can also be confusing as far as how to go about dealing with this in terms of weight lifting.
I have employed a method that, while not exactly rocket science, works. And it works safely.
There are two plans of attack, here, and they depend on if you are working both limbs unilaterally (individually) or bilaterally (together).
Let's take unilaterally, or individual, moves first. This is a pretty strait-forward approach: Do whatever the intended move is with the weaker side first, then match it on your stronger side. So, for instance, if you are able to do 15 reps of bicep curls with 10 pounds, you would move that same 10 pound weight to your weaker arm (in my case, this would be the left) and do exactly 15 reps- no more, no less. Even sets where you fall short of your desired number of reps, you keep it the same. For instance, if I were targeting 15 reps in my set but only got 13 reps out with my left arm, I would move that same weight over to my right arm and do the exact same number of reps I did with my left arm. To help me remember how many I did on the first arm, I would count from 13 down to 1. (Yes, my memory can be that bad!) Eventually you will get to where the left arm is about equal with the right. Sometimes, you can even get it stronger.
In the case of bilateral moves, there are two different approaches depending on whether you are lifting two different weights with both arms at the same time (like a dumbbell press), or a single weight with both limbs (like a leg press). In the former case (the dumbbell press), you would apply the same principle you did with the unilateral move and simply work both arms until the weaker arm gets as tired as you are targeting. In the latter case (the leg press), you would do what my former trainer Ruben Sandoval of Fit To Be in Your Kitchen advised: "Pay attention to the weak side and your strong side will take care of itself". So since my right side is weaker than my left on the leg press, I'm going to put ALL of my concentration into pushing with my right leg. The left leg instinctively presses on it's own. If it's a barbell bent row, I'm going to concentrate on pulling up with my weaker left side. The right side doesn't need me to think about it, since it's been my dominant side my whole life.
Simple little strategies that can make a BIG difference in making your body symmetrical. Tell me what you think!
Showing posts with label building muscle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label building muscle. Show all posts
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Ever Wonder the Daily Habits of the Most Muscular Guy in the Gym?
Last year I did a blog titled Ever Wondered How the Most Muscular Guy in the Gym Lifts? on SparkPeople.com. I did it there and not here because my following here appears to be mostly female, and a lot of guys follow me on Spark. I've always felt a follow-up blog about some of his daily habits would perhaps help someone else looking to make the most of their physique. While the weight lifting is obviously what has put all of that muscle on Ivory, what he does day-in and day-out contributes heavily to his health and appearance, as well. It really is a whole package if you want to get results as impressive as his:
*********NOTE***** I am not implying that anyone else should adopt ALL of these habits! Even Ivory didn't take them all on at once. Like anyone else who has made lasting lifestyle changes, he implement these bit by bit over the course of years.
So here, in no particular order, are some of the things I have observed and/or wrangled out of Ivory about what it is he does on a day-to-day basis:
Dietary:
- Never drinks soda. Unsweet tea? Yes. The occasional sugar-free Rock Star before a workout? Unfortunately, yes. (This makes me batty!) But carbonated beverages? In three years I've never seen him ingest one.
- Never drinks alcohol. No kidding.
- Drinks a LOT of water, although, surprisingly, he does not keep a bottle with him when he works out. He either goes to the drinking fountain, or swipes some of mine. (He's nice, though, and refills it for me if it is low.)
- Rarely ingests sugar. I mean, hardly ever. Around the holidays he may have a piece of sweet potato pie or banana pudding, but sugar for the most part is not in his diet.
- Keeps white flour to a bare minimum. Maybe once every week or two he'll have pancakes (with sugar-free syrup) right after a workout, but almost every other starch Ivory eats is either potatoes or whole grain.
- Not afraid of carbs, but eats plenty of protein. Protein is the center of most of his meals, but he always has some kind of a starch and usually either veggies or fruit along with it.
- Loves his veggies!
- Keeps fruit consumption fairly low- perhaps a piece of fruit a day.
- Eats an extremely wide variety of foods.
- Stops eating when he is full. He'll leave half a plate of food because "I'm full"
- And, because everyone wonders this: Doesn't go anywhere near steroids or other stuff purported to help you gain muscle. Tried Creatine once, but it dehydrated him so bad that he wound up in the ER. About the only thing supplemental he takes is the occasional scoop of protein powder and a multivitamin when he remembers it. Really. (I made him pinky swear on this one.)
Exercise:
- Cardio is short (usually 20-30 minutes) but very intense. I'm tellin' ya, the guy is positively raining sweat when he gets done with a cardio session.
- Changes set/rep scheme and the exercises he does frequently.
- Hits every muscle group once a week.
- Takes more time to train shoulders than any other body part.
- Takes 1 day a week as rest day from gym. He typically lifts weights Mon-Fri and does cardio Mon, Fri, and Sat. Sometimes Tuesday.
- Gives full rest between sets. This way, he's able to put maximum effort into all of his lifting.
- Asks for a spotter when he goes super-heavy. If there is no one around to spot, he doesn't go heavy that day and does more reps.
- Does abbreviated movements on big lifts- stays in the tension.
- Always keeps good form. If he can't keep proper form, he lowers the weight.
Life in General:
- Keeps a relaxed attitude- What some would call stressful, he just accepts as life and rolls with it.
- Is hardly ever in a hurry. For as fast as this guy moves during cardio, he kinda ambles around the rest of the time.
- Prioritizes taking time to do things he enjoys (coaching football, playing softball, going to his kids sporting events, fishing)
- Invests time in friendships.
- Keeps current on fitness information and is always willing to learn and try new things.
- Makes an effort to stand up strait- excellent posture.
- Lost weight when he needed to. Ivory told me that at 6'2" he weighed 330, if I remember correctly, for quite a while. It was affecting his health. The doctor gave him what-for, Ivory listened and started eating better and adding cardio to his exercise routine (he'd been lifting all along). He lost 50 pounds and the weight has stayed off. Gotta respect that.
Lastly, I feel compelled to point out that it has taken years of doing these same things, day in and day out, to get to where he is now. Genetically Ivory is indeed gifted, but the mounds of thick and well-defined muscle would not be there if he didn't work hard and stay consistent in his habits. So if you aren't getting the results you want in a few weeks or months, remember that it takes sticking to doing the right things over and over for many years on end to be able to carry this kind of a look well into your 40's (Ivory is 45), and beyond.
*********NOTE***** I am not implying that anyone else should adopt ALL of these habits! Even Ivory didn't take them all on at once. Like anyone else who has made lasting lifestyle changes, he implement these bit by bit over the course of years.
So here, in no particular order, are some of the things I have observed and/or wrangled out of Ivory about what it is he does on a day-to-day basis:
Dietary:
- Never drinks soda. Unsweet tea? Yes. The occasional sugar-free Rock Star before a workout? Unfortunately, yes. (This makes me batty!) But carbonated beverages? In three years I've never seen him ingest one.
- Never drinks alcohol. No kidding.
- Drinks a LOT of water, although, surprisingly, he does not keep a bottle with him when he works out. He either goes to the drinking fountain, or swipes some of mine. (He's nice, though, and refills it for me if it is low.)
- Rarely ingests sugar. I mean, hardly ever. Around the holidays he may have a piece of sweet potato pie or banana pudding, but sugar for the most part is not in his diet.
- Keeps white flour to a bare minimum. Maybe once every week or two he'll have pancakes (with sugar-free syrup) right after a workout, but almost every other starch Ivory eats is either potatoes or whole grain.
- Not afraid of carbs, but eats plenty of protein. Protein is the center of most of his meals, but he always has some kind of a starch and usually either veggies or fruit along with it.
- Loves his veggies!
- Keeps fruit consumption fairly low- perhaps a piece of fruit a day.
- Eats an extremely wide variety of foods.
- Stops eating when he is full. He'll leave half a plate of food because "I'm full"
- And, because everyone wonders this: Doesn't go anywhere near steroids or other stuff purported to help you gain muscle. Tried Creatine once, but it dehydrated him so bad that he wound up in the ER. About the only thing supplemental he takes is the occasional scoop of protein powder and a multivitamin when he remembers it. Really. (I made him pinky swear on this one.)
Exercise:
- Cardio is short (usually 20-30 minutes) but very intense. I'm tellin' ya, the guy is positively raining sweat when he gets done with a cardio session.
- Changes set/rep scheme and the exercises he does frequently.
- Hits every muscle group once a week.
- Takes more time to train shoulders than any other body part.
- Takes 1 day a week as rest day from gym. He typically lifts weights Mon-Fri and does cardio Mon, Fri, and Sat. Sometimes Tuesday.
- Gives full rest between sets. This way, he's able to put maximum effort into all of his lifting.
- Asks for a spotter when he goes super-heavy. If there is no one around to spot, he doesn't go heavy that day and does more reps.
- Does abbreviated movements on big lifts- stays in the tension.
- Always keeps good form. If he can't keep proper form, he lowers the weight.
Life in General:
- Keeps a relaxed attitude- What some would call stressful, he just accepts as life and rolls with it.
- Is hardly ever in a hurry. For as fast as this guy moves during cardio, he kinda ambles around the rest of the time.
- Prioritizes taking time to do things he enjoys (coaching football, playing softball, going to his kids sporting events, fishing)
- Invests time in friendships.
- Keeps current on fitness information and is always willing to learn and try new things.
- Makes an effort to stand up strait- excellent posture.
- Lost weight when he needed to. Ivory told me that at 6'2" he weighed 330, if I remember correctly, for quite a while. It was affecting his health. The doctor gave him what-for, Ivory listened and started eating better and adding cardio to his exercise routine (he'd been lifting all along). He lost 50 pounds and the weight has stayed off. Gotta respect that.
Lastly, I feel compelled to point out that it has taken years of doing these same things, day in and day out, to get to where he is now. Genetically Ivory is indeed gifted, but the mounds of thick and well-defined muscle would not be there if he didn't work hard and stay consistent in his habits. So if you aren't getting the results you want in a few weeks or months, remember that it takes sticking to doing the right things over and over for many years on end to be able to carry this kind of a look well into your 40's (Ivory is 45), and beyond.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Accept Your Body Type
"I want your abs!".
I get this comment a lot. While I know it's meant as a compliment, some of the people who say this are seriously trying to get abs just like mine. They will write me telling me they've eaten what I eat, exercised like I exercise, and done their level best to emulate me. And still they don't have my abs. They want to know what they are doing wrong.
And here is my answer: Nothing. They are doing nothing wrong.
See, other people doing what I do to get my abs is the equivalent of me doing what Figure Pro Erin Stern does to get her legs. Try as I might, I'll never have Erin's legs, because I am not Erin.
My lower half will always be my weak point, the place where I will always wish I could improve. There are broken veins and even at 10% body fat, when they are looking the best they can, there is always at least a little cellulite. To add insult to injury, at body fat that low there's also saggy skin right under my glutes.
So what's a bottom-heavy girl to do? I capitalize on my abs, arms, shoulders, and back (I have awesome back muscles!). I show these parts off. I hide my legs as much as I need to so that they don't take away from the beauty of my upper body.
This doesn't mean I don't work on my lower body, because I do. I work REALLY hard on it, because not only do I want to see improvement there, but also because those big muscles burn the most fat. And I need to keep my fat levels low for the sake of my health. So for me, it's about more way more than appearance- It's about being healthy and balanced.
But I have accepted that my legs and glutes will never be my strong suit. And you may need to accept that your abs will never be yours. Or whatever body part makes you crazy.
There are parts of your physique you can reshape: My shoulders are naturally very slight. I have worked to build muscle on them to help balance my wide hips. I've built up my back for the same reason. I've added muscle, and therefore definition, to my arms.
But some things (like wide waists, big calves, and bubble butts) can't be changed with diet and exercise. You might be very lean and still have a waist measurement almost the same as your hips, a bust line that is more than generous, or muscular calves that will never fit into a pair of skinny jeans. Like me, you might have to get down to an unsustainable and unhealthy body fat level to get true symmetry to your physique. The sooner you accept that the healthiest thing may for you may not be the most asthetically pleasing, the sooner you will be content with your body.
Change what you can, accept what you can't, aim for health over all, and celebrate the uniqueness of YOU!
I get this comment a lot. While I know it's meant as a compliment, some of the people who say this are seriously trying to get abs just like mine. They will write me telling me they've eaten what I eat, exercised like I exercise, and done their level best to emulate me. And still they don't have my abs. They want to know what they are doing wrong.
And here is my answer: Nothing. They are doing nothing wrong.
See, other people doing what I do to get my abs is the equivalent of me doing what Figure Pro Erin Stern does to get her legs. Try as I might, I'll never have Erin's legs, because I am not Erin.
My lower half will always be my weak point, the place where I will always wish I could improve. There are broken veins and even at 10% body fat, when they are looking the best they can, there is always at least a little cellulite. To add insult to injury, at body fat that low there's also saggy skin right under my glutes.
So what's a bottom-heavy girl to do? I capitalize on my abs, arms, shoulders, and back (I have awesome back muscles!). I show these parts off. I hide my legs as much as I need to so that they don't take away from the beauty of my upper body.
This doesn't mean I don't work on my lower body, because I do. I work REALLY hard on it, because not only do I want to see improvement there, but also because those big muscles burn the most fat. And I need to keep my fat levels low for the sake of my health. So for me, it's about more way more than appearance- It's about being healthy and balanced.
But I have accepted that my legs and glutes will never be my strong suit. And you may need to accept that your abs will never be yours. Or whatever body part makes you crazy.
There are parts of your physique you can reshape: My shoulders are naturally very slight. I have worked to build muscle on them to help balance my wide hips. I've built up my back for the same reason. I've added muscle, and therefore definition, to my arms.
But some things (like wide waists, big calves, and bubble butts) can't be changed with diet and exercise. You might be very lean and still have a waist measurement almost the same as your hips, a bust line that is more than generous, or muscular calves that will never fit into a pair of skinny jeans. Like me, you might have to get down to an unsustainable and unhealthy body fat level to get true symmetry to your physique. The sooner you accept that the healthiest thing may for you may not be the most asthetically pleasing, the sooner you will be content with your body.
Change what you can, accept what you can't, aim for health over all, and celebrate the uniqueness of YOU!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
A Surprising Supplement Rescource
Could you use another source for your protein-rich dietary supplements? You might want to consider bariatric product suppliers. They have become my surprising source for protein-rich supplements to aid in my quest to be leaner and more muscular.
Bariatric patients (who have had either gastric by-pass or lap-band surgery) have stomachs that have been surgically altered to hold very little food. One of their primary concerns is getting enough protein. They have to pack as much of it as possible into a very small stomach space. Bariatric foods accomplish this. So it follows that these protein-rich foods can also be very handy for weight lifters and people looking to raise their dietary protein levels.
Now don't get me wrong: These supplements aren't cheap. But most of us who buy protein bars and powders have come to accept the expense.
There is a protein powder sold by our local bariatric doctor called Nectar. It's made by the Syntrax company. Per scoop Nectar is 100 calories, all of them from protein. No carbs. No fat. Just protein. And it comes in a dizzying array of flavors! (I love the peach.)
Bariatric places also tend to stock protein bars that are less garbage and more good for you, because they are interested in keeping their patients as healthy as possible. Generally these bars will have not only about equal amounts of carbs as protein, but also some fiber in them, which really helps with feeling full. For bariatric patients these are meal replacements. (Remember- their stomachs hold next to nothing!) For the rest of us, they are between-meal snacks. But they taste good (you aren't going to get an obese person who ate exactly what they liked getting that way to eat food that tastes like crap), and give a good balance of nutrients.
Don't be afraid to walk into your local bariatric doctor and ask if they sell powders and bars. They won't mind having you for a client! This is one avenue of revenue for them and they are happy to sell their products to the general public.
Another thing I like about purchasing from our local bariatric doctor's office is that they have samples of the protein flavors. So I can try out a single serving for $2, instead of spending $32 on an entire tub of powder I may not like the flavor of.
If you don't have a bariatric doctor nearby who sells supplements you can also order online. Here is a site that I use: http://www.dietdirect.com/wonderslim-crispy-protein-diet-bars.html. Not only do I like the bars in the link (I've mentioned these a couple of times in my blogs), but they also sell the Nectar Protein powder. And a lot of other stuff, too! They offer a surprising amount of vitamins and various tablet supplements, as well. Take a poke around to see! (Although I would NOT recommend their entree mixes- Not only are they highly processed, but I don't think they taste all that great.) If you order more than $49 you get free shipping, and check out the "discounts and coupons" tags on the left bar, under "Wonderslim", to see if you qualify for any discounts or special offers.
I know this isn't a practical resource for everyone, but thought it might be something some of my wonderful readers might like to know about.
Bariatric patients (who have had either gastric by-pass or lap-band surgery) have stomachs that have been surgically altered to hold very little food. One of their primary concerns is getting enough protein. They have to pack as much of it as possible into a very small stomach space. Bariatric foods accomplish this. So it follows that these protein-rich foods can also be very handy for weight lifters and people looking to raise their dietary protein levels.
Now don't get me wrong: These supplements aren't cheap. But most of us who buy protein bars and powders have come to accept the expense.
There is a protein powder sold by our local bariatric doctor called Nectar. It's made by the Syntrax company. Per scoop Nectar is 100 calories, all of them from protein. No carbs. No fat. Just protein. And it comes in a dizzying array of flavors! (I love the peach.)
Bariatric places also tend to stock protein bars that are less garbage and more good for you, because they are interested in keeping their patients as healthy as possible. Generally these bars will have not only about equal amounts of carbs as protein, but also some fiber in them, which really helps with feeling full. For bariatric patients these are meal replacements. (Remember- their stomachs hold next to nothing!) For the rest of us, they are between-meal snacks. But they taste good (you aren't going to get an obese person who ate exactly what they liked getting that way to eat food that tastes like crap), and give a good balance of nutrients.
Don't be afraid to walk into your local bariatric doctor and ask if they sell powders and bars. They won't mind having you for a client! This is one avenue of revenue for them and they are happy to sell their products to the general public.
Another thing I like about purchasing from our local bariatric doctor's office is that they have samples of the protein flavors. So I can try out a single serving for $2, instead of spending $32 on an entire tub of powder I may not like the flavor of.
If you don't have a bariatric doctor nearby who sells supplements you can also order online. Here is a site that I use: http://www.dietdirect.com/wonderslim-crispy-protein-diet-bars.html. Not only do I like the bars in the link (I've mentioned these a couple of times in my blogs), but they also sell the Nectar Protein powder. And a lot of other stuff, too! They offer a surprising amount of vitamins and various tablet supplements, as well. Take a poke around to see! (Although I would NOT recommend their entree mixes- Not only are they highly processed, but I don't think they taste all that great.) If you order more than $49 you get free shipping, and check out the "discounts and coupons" tags on the left bar, under "Wonderslim", to see if you qualify for any discounts or special offers.
I know this isn't a practical resource for everyone, but thought it might be something some of my wonderful readers might like to know about.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Video Blog: Organizational Tools I Have Used in my Quest for Fitness
Here is a link to my very first video blog. It's pretty self-explanatory!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKSEWgllqDs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKSEWgllqDs
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Weight Lifting for the Very Heavy
Weight lifting is beneficial for just about everyone, but if you have a lot of weight to lose there are some special precautions you need to take.
First of all, bear in mind that your body is lifting weights every day just by moving around. Think about it: If you are 100 pounds overweight, that's literally lifting 100 pounds of weight every time you walk. For this reason, you need to start out with very light weights, if any at all, because your bones can only take so much. As your strength goes up, of course, you will be able to lift more. But you will probably also notice that as your body fat goes down you will be able to lift heavier weights, also. This is because your body is used to lifting that much already, so adding more to your weights is simply asking it to do what it is used to because it has been doing it all along. You will surprise and astound your weight lifting friends with your quickly increasing strength while you shrink before their very eyes!
Also, proceed with caution before raising the amount of weight you are lifting until your body weight starts moving down, and increase the amounts gradually when you do. Because bigger bodies have more tissue to get oxygen and nutrients to, the heart already has quite the job. Adding weights to this increases the load to the heart and internal organs. You want to get the heart used to the added demand before you ask even more of it: We don't want you passing out with heavy stuff in your hands!
This should not discourage you from lifting weights if you have quite a lot of weight to lose, though. There are added benefits that make it still very beneficial to you. Two of the biggest benefits are: 1.) Muscle burns more calories at rest then fat, so you will lose weight quicker if you make some of that scale weight muscle instead of fat. And 2.) You will have a much more attractive body under there when you DO lose weight if there is some muscle to it, regardless of whether you are a man or a women. Ever see someone who loses a lot of weight but looks like a bag of bones? Nor exactly the look most people are going for. Don't let that person be you!
So start with no weights (particularly for arms). You will still be getting an excellent workout! Then increase the resistance slowly. Before you know it, you will be a bonafide weight lifter well on your way to that shapely, fit body you've always dreamed about. It really CAN happen, and the cool thing is that the power is all in YOUR hands!
First of all, bear in mind that your body is lifting weights every day just by moving around. Think about it: If you are 100 pounds overweight, that's literally lifting 100 pounds of weight every time you walk. For this reason, you need to start out with very light weights, if any at all, because your bones can only take so much. As your strength goes up, of course, you will be able to lift more. But you will probably also notice that as your body fat goes down you will be able to lift heavier weights, also. This is because your body is used to lifting that much already, so adding more to your weights is simply asking it to do what it is used to because it has been doing it all along. You will surprise and astound your weight lifting friends with your quickly increasing strength while you shrink before their very eyes!
Also, proceed with caution before raising the amount of weight you are lifting until your body weight starts moving down, and increase the amounts gradually when you do. Because bigger bodies have more tissue to get oxygen and nutrients to, the heart already has quite the job. Adding weights to this increases the load to the heart and internal organs. You want to get the heart used to the added demand before you ask even more of it: We don't want you passing out with heavy stuff in your hands!
This should not discourage you from lifting weights if you have quite a lot of weight to lose, though. There are added benefits that make it still very beneficial to you. Two of the biggest benefits are: 1.) Muscle burns more calories at rest then fat, so you will lose weight quicker if you make some of that scale weight muscle instead of fat. And 2.) You will have a much more attractive body under there when you DO lose weight if there is some muscle to it, regardless of whether you are a man or a women. Ever see someone who loses a lot of weight but looks like a bag of bones? Nor exactly the look most people are going for. Don't let that person be you!
So start with no weights (particularly for arms). You will still be getting an excellent workout! Then increase the resistance slowly. Before you know it, you will be a bonafide weight lifter well on your way to that shapely, fit body you've always dreamed about. It really CAN happen, and the cool thing is that the power is all in YOUR hands!
Monday, January 24, 2011
A Product Recommendation: PACE Weights
For Christmas I recieved something I feel is a valuable tool in my strength and muscle gaining arsenal: PACE Weights ( paceweights.com )
These were first mentioned to me by Ross, a trainer I worked with a year ago. He told me about little 1/2 pound magnetic weights that attach to other types of metal weights (to include plates on cable machines) and make it possible to go up in poundage. I Googled them, bookmarked the site, then asked for them for Christmas this year.
I'm sure you have experienced times when you can't go up to the next 5 or 10 pound weight, but the current weight is just a little too light for the number of reps you had in mind. It's frustrating! BUT, if you can go up 1/2 pound at a time, you can inch closer to that next weight mark. Ross said "Can you imagine how fast you can gain strength if you can go up just a pound at a time?" He was right- since starting to work out with my PACE Weights my strength has increased MUCH faster than it did without them.
IMHO they're kinda expensive- the full set is $89 and with shipping it comes out to $103. This is for 18 PACE Weights (9lbs). You can also get a smaller set of 9 PACE Weights (4 1/2 pounds), for $57. But unless you strictly work out with one Dumbbell at a time, I'd recommend the larger set. I've had occasion to use more than 9 of them at once already. And get the ones that include the case! It makes them portable and more accessible with a place to store them. I take mine to the gym and use them 5 days a week.
My friend Tammie saw mine, got PACE Weight envy, and purchased a set for herself. I got a text this morning telling me how much she likes them. This is one really great product!
And no, I'm not on commission! :-D I just believe in recommending a great product when I find it.
These were first mentioned to me by Ross, a trainer I worked with a year ago. He told me about little 1/2 pound magnetic weights that attach to other types of metal weights (to include plates on cable machines) and make it possible to go up in poundage. I Googled them, bookmarked the site, then asked for them for Christmas this year.
I'm sure you have experienced times when you can't go up to the next 5 or 10 pound weight, but the current weight is just a little too light for the number of reps you had in mind. It's frustrating! BUT, if you can go up 1/2 pound at a time, you can inch closer to that next weight mark. Ross said "Can you imagine how fast you can gain strength if you can go up just a pound at a time?" He was right- since starting to work out with my PACE Weights my strength has increased MUCH faster than it did without them.
IMHO they're kinda expensive- the full set is $89 and with shipping it comes out to $103. This is for 18 PACE Weights (9lbs). You can also get a smaller set of 9 PACE Weights (4 1/2 pounds), for $57. But unless you strictly work out with one Dumbbell at a time, I'd recommend the larger set. I've had occasion to use more than 9 of them at once already. And get the ones that include the case! It makes them portable and more accessible with a place to store them. I take mine to the gym and use them 5 days a week.
My friend Tammie saw mine, got PACE Weight envy, and purchased a set for herself. I got a text this morning telling me how much she likes them. This is one really great product!
And no, I'm not on commission! :-D I just believe in recommending a great product when I find it.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Abs Are NOT Made in the Kitchen!
I've heard the phrase "Abs are made in the kitchen" quoted lately by a lot of people I greatly respect. I've given it a lot of thought and have finally decided that, while I think I understand the intention behind this statement, I don't agree with it. At least, not entirely.
You can eat right all you want to and reduce the fat on your body, but the muscle that makes abs is not made in the kitchen. Mine were made mostly flat on my back on the floor doing ab exercises. And since my kitchen has a hard tile floor, I can say with utmost certainty that my abs were NEVER made in the kitchen. Uncovered in the kitchen? Yes! Made there? NO!
I guess I don't like the phrase "Abs were made in the kitchen", because it gives the false impression that if folks just eat well enough, they'll have abs of steel. Tight, muscular abs come from the hard work of exercise. Getting them hard, however, requires dedication to reducing fat through diet. Becuase let's face it: Fat isn't hard, it's soft. So if you have hard ab muscles but they are covered up by soft fat, you're still gonna have soft abs.
I've said before and will say again that you can build all the lean, strong, beautiful muscle you want to, but if it's covered up by fat no one is gonna see it. It doesn't mean the muscle you are building isn't doing you any good, because it certainly is! It's benefiting your health in a myriad of ways I won't take the time to go into here. But the fact is that you won't be able to actually visibly SEE the muscular fruits of your labor if you are over-fat.
It's always a two-part equation to building ANY muscle, not just abs: Fat reduction and weight bearing exercises. You can't leave one out and expect to see big results.
Abs are built in the gym and unveiled in the kitchen.
You can eat right all you want to and reduce the fat on your body, but the muscle that makes abs is not made in the kitchen. Mine were made mostly flat on my back on the floor doing ab exercises. And since my kitchen has a hard tile floor, I can say with utmost certainty that my abs were NEVER made in the kitchen. Uncovered in the kitchen? Yes! Made there? NO!
I guess I don't like the phrase "Abs were made in the kitchen", because it gives the false impression that if folks just eat well enough, they'll have abs of steel. Tight, muscular abs come from the hard work of exercise. Getting them hard, however, requires dedication to reducing fat through diet. Becuase let's face it: Fat isn't hard, it's soft. So if you have hard ab muscles but they are covered up by soft fat, you're still gonna have soft abs.
I've said before and will say again that you can build all the lean, strong, beautiful muscle you want to, but if it's covered up by fat no one is gonna see it. It doesn't mean the muscle you are building isn't doing you any good, because it certainly is! It's benefiting your health in a myriad of ways I won't take the time to go into here. But the fact is that you won't be able to actually visibly SEE the muscular fruits of your labor if you are over-fat.
It's always a two-part equation to building ANY muscle, not just abs: Fat reduction and weight bearing exercises. You can't leave one out and expect to see big results.
Abs are built in the gym and unveiled in the kitchen.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The Evolution of a Muscular Back
Many years ago (20 or more), I saw an article in a magazine where the author gave kuddos to the best body parts in Hollywood. Raquel Welch got the vote for back, and the attached caption for the beautiful photo of her back stated that a muscular back on a woman is sexy.
I decided I was going to try and get a back like that.
And try I did. Back had always been my favorite body part to work, but at that point I started putting concentrated effort into building the back muscles when I lifted. The problem was that I couldn't really see my back and it didn't occur to me to have someone take a picture (bright, I know!), so I never knew if my efforts were paying off.
Then entered Ruben Sandoval, who I started working with as a nutritionist and distance coach in February of this year. He taught me some basic posing and I had my daughter take pictures to show him, so that he could see where my body was muscle-wise so he'd have a good idea of the work that needed to be done. When I looked at those first photos I was shocked for two reasons: 1) I was REALLY bad at posing, and B) I had developed back muscles! I truly was stunned. 24 or so years of weight lifting had paid off, I just hadn't known it until that very moment.
I think I can safely say I not only met my goal of having muscle like Raquel's, but surpassed it.
This isn't to say that it will take you 24 years of lifting to have a strong back, but it IS to say that when you concentrate efforts on building up this area, for Pete's sake, be sure to have someone snap flexed pics along the way!
Okay, so here is my prescription for building a strong back:
1) Diet. As I stated in my "Creating Abs You Can Be Proud Of" blog, if you don't get the fat off of the area, you'll never see all the beautiful muscle you are building. Having said that, many people gain fat in their backs LAST, so it could very well be that you will see development in this area faster than others. I know this is the case with me. But if you have excess fat to lose anywhere on your body, do it! A little will still come off of your back, and even a small amount of fat reduction can make a big difference in how much developed muscle you can see. Also, proper nutrition and a cleaned-up diet (ban the junk!) will help you to put on muscle much faster.
2) Lift heavy! You can't get a muscular back without resistance training. Push-ups alone aren't going to build a balanced and symmetrically muscular back. You are going to have to pick up the weights!
3) When I train, I target 3 different muscle groups: Lats, Rhomboids, and low back. The lats are the muscles that flare out to the side under your armpit and down the side of the ribcage when well-developed. These look wing-like on very muscular men, in particular. The rhomboids are what I call the tenderloins- they run on either side of the upper area of the back bone and attach to the scapula. The lower back is all the muscles that make up the lower region of the back area. As I said in my abs blog, if I have not done an exercise that brings low back in some other time in my workout week (stiff-legged dead lifts, hyperextensions, etc), I will include lower back exercises on back day.
So on back day, since I usually do deadlifts, squats, and/or hyperextensions on leg day, I concentrate most of my weight lifting efforts on Lats and Rhomboids.
Lat exercises are going to be mostly pull-down and overhead type moves, like different types of lat pull-downs and chin-ups.
Rhomboid exercises are going to be mostly squeezing-type moves, like various rows and and reverse flyes (which you have to be very careful to keep in a lower plane of motion, so as not to make them a shoulder exercise).
Having said this, both types of moves incorporate all muscle groups in the back, so don't be surprised if you feel one exercise in the rest of the back.
When I work my back, I really concentrate hard on contracting the muscle targeted. I put in max effort, and usually do three sets of 15-20, with the goal being exhaustion at the end of each set. If I were trying to build my back muscle, as opposed to maintaining it (I need to let the rest of my body catch up to my back), I'd do a pyramid setup of four sets of 12, 8, 4 then another set of 12, with the same goal of exhaustion by the end of all but the first set. This is pretty much the way I built my back to where it is now.
So my current back exercise selection once a week (the only muscles I work twice a week are quads, hams, and delts, sometimes abs), might look something like this:
3 Super-sets, 15-20 reps each to exhaustion, of:
- Wide-grip lat pull-downs (always front- I won't do behind-the-neck pull-downs without an experienced spotter)
- Narrow-grip seated pulley rows
Then separately:
- Dumbbell bent rows, single arm (to let one side recover while the other rests).
If I feel a need to work lower back, I'll perhaps jump over and do three sets of 15 hyperextensions, weighted or not, depending on how strong I feel that day after the back exercises. I might point out that when I first started working my back I did NOT max out on lower-back moves. I realized I needed to slowly build my strength to avoid potential injury. If you are just getting into the back-building business, I would advise that you do the same.
I usually work triceps with back, so will often super-set a tricep exercise with a back exercise (moving immediately from back exercise to tricep exercise). This helps to save time while my back recovers, and uses the back exercise to somewhat pre-exhaust my triceps, which gives them a better workout.
There is another big muscle back there- the trapezius (a kite-shaped muscle that runs from the base of your neck to about 1/2 way or so down your backbone). I never target it because I don't feel big traps bulging up between the shoulders and neck is a particularly attractive look on females. And I'm starting to get concerned that mine is almost disproportionately large compared to the rest of my back muscles. My traps don't need any more volume! If, however, you are either a female who feels your traps are underdeveloped or are male (big traps look great on guys!), you will want to find exercises to target this muscle, as well. Shrugs are the most popular exercise I know of to build traps.
I hope this information is useful to someone.
If you have questions, as always, please don't hesitate to ask!
I decided I was going to try and get a back like that.
And try I did. Back had always been my favorite body part to work, but at that point I started putting concentrated effort into building the back muscles when I lifted. The problem was that I couldn't really see my back and it didn't occur to me to have someone take a picture (bright, I know!), so I never knew if my efforts were paying off.
Then entered Ruben Sandoval, who I started working with as a nutritionist and distance coach in February of this year. He taught me some basic posing and I had my daughter take pictures to show him, so that he could see where my body was muscle-wise so he'd have a good idea of the work that needed to be done. When I looked at those first photos I was shocked for two reasons: 1) I was REALLY bad at posing, and B) I had developed back muscles! I truly was stunned. 24 or so years of weight lifting had paid off, I just hadn't known it until that very moment.
I think I can safely say I not only met my goal of having muscle like Raquel's, but surpassed it.
This isn't to say that it will take you 24 years of lifting to have a strong back, but it IS to say that when you concentrate efforts on building up this area, for Pete's sake, be sure to have someone snap flexed pics along the way!
Okay, so here is my prescription for building a strong back:
1) Diet. As I stated in my "Creating Abs You Can Be Proud Of" blog, if you don't get the fat off of the area, you'll never see all the beautiful muscle you are building. Having said that, many people gain fat in their backs LAST, so it could very well be that you will see development in this area faster than others. I know this is the case with me. But if you have excess fat to lose anywhere on your body, do it! A little will still come off of your back, and even a small amount of fat reduction can make a big difference in how much developed muscle you can see. Also, proper nutrition and a cleaned-up diet (ban the junk!) will help you to put on muscle much faster.
2) Lift heavy! You can't get a muscular back without resistance training. Push-ups alone aren't going to build a balanced and symmetrically muscular back. You are going to have to pick up the weights!
3) When I train, I target 3 different muscle groups: Lats, Rhomboids, and low back. The lats are the muscles that flare out to the side under your armpit and down the side of the ribcage when well-developed. These look wing-like on very muscular men, in particular. The rhomboids are what I call the tenderloins- they run on either side of the upper area of the back bone and attach to the scapula. The lower back is all the muscles that make up the lower region of the back area. As I said in my abs blog, if I have not done an exercise that brings low back in some other time in my workout week (stiff-legged dead lifts, hyperextensions, etc), I will include lower back exercises on back day.
So on back day, since I usually do deadlifts, squats, and/or hyperextensions on leg day, I concentrate most of my weight lifting efforts on Lats and Rhomboids.
Lat exercises are going to be mostly pull-down and overhead type moves, like different types of lat pull-downs and chin-ups.
Rhomboid exercises are going to be mostly squeezing-type moves, like various rows and and reverse flyes (which you have to be very careful to keep in a lower plane of motion, so as not to make them a shoulder exercise).
Having said this, both types of moves incorporate all muscle groups in the back, so don't be surprised if you feel one exercise in the rest of the back.
When I work my back, I really concentrate hard on contracting the muscle targeted. I put in max effort, and usually do three sets of 15-20, with the goal being exhaustion at the end of each set. If I were trying to build my back muscle, as opposed to maintaining it (I need to let the rest of my body catch up to my back), I'd do a pyramid setup of four sets of 12, 8, 4 then another set of 12, with the same goal of exhaustion by the end of all but the first set. This is pretty much the way I built my back to where it is now.
So my current back exercise selection once a week (the only muscles I work twice a week are quads, hams, and delts, sometimes abs), might look something like this:
3 Super-sets, 15-20 reps each to exhaustion, of:
- Wide-grip lat pull-downs (always front- I won't do behind-the-neck pull-downs without an experienced spotter)
- Narrow-grip seated pulley rows
Then separately:
- Dumbbell bent rows, single arm (to let one side recover while the other rests).
If I feel a need to work lower back, I'll perhaps jump over and do three sets of 15 hyperextensions, weighted or not, depending on how strong I feel that day after the back exercises. I might point out that when I first started working my back I did NOT max out on lower-back moves. I realized I needed to slowly build my strength to avoid potential injury. If you are just getting into the back-building business, I would advise that you do the same.
I usually work triceps with back, so will often super-set a tricep exercise with a back exercise (moving immediately from back exercise to tricep exercise). This helps to save time while my back recovers, and uses the back exercise to somewhat pre-exhaust my triceps, which gives them a better workout.
There is another big muscle back there- the trapezius (a kite-shaped muscle that runs from the base of your neck to about 1/2 way or so down your backbone). I never target it because I don't feel big traps bulging up between the shoulders and neck is a particularly attractive look on females. And I'm starting to get concerned that mine is almost disproportionately large compared to the rest of my back muscles. My traps don't need any more volume! If, however, you are either a female who feels your traps are underdeveloped or are male (big traps look great on guys!), you will want to find exercises to target this muscle, as well. Shrugs are the most popular exercise I know of to build traps.
I hope this information is useful to someone.
If you have questions, as always, please don't hesitate to ask!
Monday, August 17, 2009
The incredible Hulk Woman
Let me try to clear up a little muscle confusion, if I may: Women's fear that they will build a lot of muscle:
I have heard on several occasions women express that if they lift weights, or increase weight load, that they will get big, bulging, manly muscles. This is a fear that I understand, but it's completely unfounded.
You can NOT, I mean, no way, no how, it's not happening, can NOT get "big bulky muscles" like a man. Yes, I know you've seen those magazines with women who have freakishly large muscles and they look..... well.... masculine. Let me assure you of something: They are taking steroids. That's the only way it happens for women. Why? We simply don't make enough testosterone naturally to get huge muscles. Well defined muscles? Yes? Great, big ones? Can't happen. It's just physiologically impossible.
Want proof? Look at me. I've been lifting weights fairly consistently for the past 23 years, and very consistently for the past 2, increasing my weight load and maxing out as much as possible. I lift a lot of weight for a woman. Most people reading this have seen me in the fairly recent past. Let me ask you a question- Do I look anything remotely close to masculine, big, or bulky? I think I can safely say you would be hard-pressed to find a more feminine figure than mine.
Now, there are a few women out there who are the very rare exception, and I do mean EXTREMELY rare, who will build muscle larger than most women, but they are so few and far between that it's barely even worth a mention. Trust me, you aren't one of them.
Muscle tone adds sleek, sexy tightness and definition to a woman and enhances her feminine shape.
So if you are just starting out or getting back into lifting after a long sabatical, get a good book or hire a trainer to make sure you have proper form, and start lifting!
I'm sorry it took me so long to get another blog out. Between being injured in a wreck that totaled my car, finding a new vehicle, and my husband visiting, I didn't have proper time until now.
I have heard on several occasions women express that if they lift weights, or increase weight load, that they will get big, bulging, manly muscles. This is a fear that I understand, but it's completely unfounded.
You can NOT, I mean, no way, no how, it's not happening, can NOT get "big bulky muscles" like a man. Yes, I know you've seen those magazines with women who have freakishly large muscles and they look..... well.... masculine. Let me assure you of something: They are taking steroids. That's the only way it happens for women. Why? We simply don't make enough testosterone naturally to get huge muscles. Well defined muscles? Yes? Great, big ones? Can't happen. It's just physiologically impossible.
Want proof? Look at me. I've been lifting weights fairly consistently for the past 23 years, and very consistently for the past 2, increasing my weight load and maxing out as much as possible. I lift a lot of weight for a woman. Most people reading this have seen me in the fairly recent past. Let me ask you a question- Do I look anything remotely close to masculine, big, or bulky? I think I can safely say you would be hard-pressed to find a more feminine figure than mine.
Now, there are a few women out there who are the very rare exception, and I do mean EXTREMELY rare, who will build muscle larger than most women, but they are so few and far between that it's barely even worth a mention. Trust me, you aren't one of them.
Muscle tone adds sleek, sexy tightness and definition to a woman and enhances her feminine shape.
So if you are just starting out or getting back into lifting after a long sabatical, get a good book or hire a trainer to make sure you have proper form, and start lifting!
I'm sorry it took me so long to get another blog out. Between being injured in a wreck that totaled my car, finding a new vehicle, and my husband visiting, I didn't have proper time until now.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Keep your mind on the muscle you are working!
Maximum effectiveness of an exercise. Isn't that what we all want? Of course! Otherwise we wouldn't be exercising, right?
I have a saying when I exercise: "As long as I'm taking the time to do this, I may as well get maximum benefit from it."
Here is my best tip for getting the most of any exercise: Concentrate on the muscle you are working.
Sounds simple doesn't it? But it is so easy to let our minds wander when we are lifting weights or doing toning exercise.
First of all, when you get to the gym leave your problems at the door. This is not the time to be thinking through the strategy for a problem at work or about the fight you had with your significant other the night before. This is one time you need to be really selfish and concentrate on just you and your muscles.
Now that you are fully focused on your workout, really think about the specific muscle you are working for that exercise.
Let's use the Lat Pull Down as an example: This exercise works the latissimus dorsi muscle (lats) in the upper back (the muscles that flares out to the sides when well developed). So, from the start of the movement with my arms in the air, I am thinking upper, outer back. I'm thinking of starting the movement by contracting that muscle in order to pull the bar down. All the way through the movement, from the initial lowering of the bar, to the peak of contraction when the bar is near my chest, and then all the way back up the the starting position with my arms over my head, I am thinking about my lats doing the work of lowering and raising the bar up. I don't stop focusing on my lats until the last repetition of that set.
With any exercise you do, apply this principle of concentrating on the muscle or area being worked. Trust me- your mind won't have room for anything else if you do it properly and you'll get a much more intense and effective workout for your efforts.
My apologies for taking so long to post a new blog entry. Life has thrown some major curve balls at me lately. And I don't know why this is saying it's August 10th- It's really October 28th.
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