Must for a fit lower body (2 of 3)

Good morning friends.  This is the second part of my article and I hope you are still following me.  Let me continue here …

Exercises for a strong lower body

Seated knee extension : Works the quadracep muscle

Extend your leg at the knee and bring your foot to knee height. Take it down. Perform two sets of 12 reps on each leg, thrice a week. Add ankle weighs later.

Hamstring curl : Works the hamstrings (back of your thigh)

Lie with your face down. Flex your leg at the knee and bring your heel close to your hip. Extend and bring your foot down to the floor. Perform two sets of 12 reps on each leg, thrice a week.

Lunge : Works the hamstrings, quadraceps and gluteus muscles

Stand with feet at hip distance. Take your right leg backwards to a comfortable distance. Flex at your knee and bring your hip to the height of your left knee. Get back to starting position. Do two sets of 12 reps on each leg, thrice a week.

Supine Pelvic tilt : Works the hip muscle

Lie down facing the ceiling. Keep your knee flexed, and feet on the floor/step/ gym ball. Bring your hip one inch off the floor. Now, raise your hip up to 12 inches and bring back to starting position. Do four sets of 12 reps each.

Plea squat : Works the adductor muscle (inner thigh), quadriceps & gluteus muscle

Stand with feet at more than hip-width distance. Your feet should be facing out forming a 45 degree angle (say, facing the two corners of the room). Squat and bring your hip to knee height. Go back to earlier position. Perform four sets of 12 reps each, thrice a week. – The Times of India

End of Part 2

Secret of Men’s Health Gym

Every job has its perks.  Even the guy riding the garbage truck scores an occasional talking bass.  Here are some of the best tips.

1.  Set a record every workout  The Guinness folks aren’t going to call when you curl 65 pounds five times.  But if you’ve never done it before, it’s personal record.  Never leave the gym without trying to set a record.

2.  Know your body  You can find in the internet a workout program that was brilliant in every respect, except if you couldn’t do it.  It required squats three times a week, and your knees aren’t up to that.  Don’t do what the other guys do; do what works for your body.

3.  Don’t confuse pain with productivity  A good new workout will often create soreness, but that soreness should be in the belly of the muscle, not in the elbow, knee, hip, shoulder, or lower-back joints.  If you feel equal soreness on both sides of your body, you’ve done something right.  If it’s on one side but not the other, and the pain restricts movement, you probably have an injury.

4.  Never do a garbage set  Every set should have a purpose.  It’s either a warmup (preparing your muscles for harder work to follow), a work set (increasing strength or muscle mass), or a back-off set (a higher-repetition set fibers).  Some extremely advanced workouts are based on pure volume (five sets of fie, 10 sets of 10), and in those cases the volume is intended to create a specific effect.  But if you don’t know what a set is supposed to accomplish, don’t bother with it.-L.S.  You can visit www.menshealth.com.

Daily Activities Fitness Test

Are you taking advantage of everyday opportunities to work your heart, lungs, and muscles?  To help you find out, Nancy Burstein, president of New York City’s Fitness Plus, Inc. to design a simple test.

Skim the list of activities for those you do in a typical day.  then add up the number of minutes you actually spend at each activity.  Award yourself one point for every five minutes of activity.

To ensure you’re reaping the benefits from each of the three components of well balance fitness, look for a mix of aerobic, strength, and agility-building moves.  Aerobic movement should make up 50 percent of your total score; strength and agility-based activity should account for 25% of the day’s tally.

Remember, some activities will earn you points in more than one category.  Climbing stairs, for example, gets your heart rate up while it strengthens lower muscles.  So, five minutes of walking up a few flights of stairs will you tow points—one for aerobic work and one for strength. 

To find out how you scored, tally the day’s points and check the scoring key.

Source:  Fit Your SwimSuit

Steps for Walking Exercise

Funny, some may laugh why we have to learn to walk?  As long as we can we can walk, we can do the walking exercise.  Yes, it’s true but there are some proper steps how to do it properly.  Before doing walking exercise, make sure that you follow the steps first. 

How to walk

Believe it or not, there is a right way to walk.  As with sitting and standing, you must hold the right posture when you step, or you risk damaging your bones and muscles.  To saunter suitably, first keep your back straight, pelvis forward, and buttocks tucked.  Walk with coordinated (or parallel) leg and arm movements, breathing steadily.  This “walking tall” posture will give you a higher center of gravity, which in turn gives you a longer, more effective stride.  Use a backpack for belongings—instead of a purse of handbag—to leave your arms swinging freely.  Remember, no hunched shoulders, stiffly swinging arms, or heel slamming.  Walking—especially fast—should be naturally fluid and relaxed.

Keeping in Stride

A common question among walkers is “Am I walking fast enough?”  here are some guidelines:

☻  You should walk fast enough to notice your breathing, but never so fast that you are out of breath or gasping.

☻  If you’re having a conversation, you should have to pause regularly to breathe.  If you’re talking at full gossip speed, you’re not walking for cardio-vascular fitness.

☻  You should be sweating a little bit.  Elevated body temperature usually accompanies harder work and an elevated heart rate, and sweat is a natural healthy response.

Finding a shoe That Fits

If you’re serious about walking as a form of exercise, it’s a good idea to invest in a pair of walking shoes.  Just like the rest of the body, your feet—which contain 25 percent of the body’s bones—will get tired and sore if not treated properly.

Most people mistake running shoes as a sure bet for comfortable walking shoes.  But walking shoes are designed specifically for the biomechanics of walking, which are quite different from running.  Walking shoes have more foot bed cushioning for more stripes and sole that aids in the heel-toe roll.  Walking shoes are sturdy, built with more leather than running shoes, and usually last three times longer than your typical good-quality joggers.

Source:  Fit Your SwimSuit

Prevention through the ages (2 of 2)

Your 40s

You could be losing one percent of bone from your spine every year during this decade.  That’s why you need to be especially diligent.

Diet/Fitness  In addition to keeping up the calcium (still 1,000 mg), you should add weight training to your workouts, to help strengthen muscles around your bones.

Doctor visit  If you experience early menopause, get a bone-density test; you’re greater risk for osteoporosis than if you go through menopause at the average age (51).

Your 50s and beyond

Bone loss accelerates at menopause;  you can lose up to 20 percent of bone density in the first 5 to 7 years.

Diet/Fitness Your calcium requirements go up to 1,200 mg; add another serving of calcium-rich foods or an additional supplement.  If you  didn’t start weight training earlier, now’s the time.  Lifting even light weights will make you stronger and protected you against falls, a serious threat as you get older and sustain fractures more easily.

Doctor visit  Find out where you stand.  Ask about a bone-density test;  if your mineral stores are low, your doctor may suggest hormone-replacement therapy (estrogen) or raloxifene (brand name: Evista).  These can cut the risk of a fracture by 39 to 50 percent.  Other drugs that can help: alendronate sodium (Fosamax) and risedronate sodium (Actonel), which help build new bone. – Sally Katigbak

 

The At-Home Workout (1 of 2)

Even if you have access to a health club, a set of dumbbells and a weight bench ought to be part of your home furnishings.  Dumbbells are not only convenient;  they’re a great way to challenge your muscles in new and demanding ways.  They allow you to do hundreds of exercises using only two pieces of equipment and very little space.

■  Buttocks, hamstrings, lower back, inner thighs

Opposite Extension:  Lie face down with your forehead resting on your left hand and your legs straight, toes pointed out slightly, heels together.  Tighten your abdominal muscles and try to create a space between your stomach and the floor.  Lift and extend your right arm forward as you squeeze your buttocks muscles and lift and extend your left leg back.  Don’t lift your limbs vey high.  Instead, concentrate on maximizing the extension of your arm and leg.  Hold the extension for 2 counts, then slowly lower your limbs to the floor.  Do 8 to 12 repetitions in this position, then switch arms and legs and do 8 to 12 repetitions with the opposite limbs.

■  Buttocks, quadriceps, hamstrings

Bench Lunge:  Stand about 2 feet from one side of your bench.  Extend your right leg and rest your right calf across the top of the bench.  Hold on to a chair or other sturdy object for support or place your hands on your hips.  Bend your left knee until your thigh is almost parallel to the floor.  Return to the starting position, taking care not to lock your supporting knee.  Complete the set, then switch positions to work your right leg.

■  Biceps

Stationary-Elbow Biceps Curl:  Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms at your sides, palms facing forward, the inside of your elbows resting lightly against your sides.  Your feel should be hip-width apart.  (You may want to use a slightly lighter weight than usual for this exercise, since strict form is important.)  bending at the elbows, slowly curl both weights toward your shoulders, keeping your elbows still (don’t allow them to move upward or forward).  Return to the start and repeat, keeping your elbows stationary.

 

All About Strength

The stronger your body, the more you can do.

You can carry more books!  … jump higher!

                                                          … run faster!

A body made up of strong muscles work better.  It uses up food as fuel instead of letting it turn into excess fat.

  

Are your Muscles Strong?

Can you see your muscles when you flex?  Are they firm to the touch?  If so, you’re probably pretty strong.

It’s important to realize that you don’t need to have every muscle bulging out so that you look like a body builder.  But you should look firm not flabby and soft.  Remember, muscles grow when you grow.  If you know you’re strong but can’t see your muscle, wait until you’re older.  Then you muscle development will show.

Jump-Start your workout

A full-body dumbbell program for summer-sport muscles

Like combat training and diet soda, sport-specific weight lifting should simulate the real thing.  Using dumbbells instead of a barbell lets you do exercise that mimic the jumping motion you use in sports like basketball, volleyball, and tennis.  Try a full-body dumbbell workout.  You can hit every major muscle in your body without leaving your garage. (Warning:  Don’t do these if you have back or knee problems.)

One Arm Dumbbell Snatch

With your right hand, grab a dumbbell that’s half the weight you usually use for a dumbbell shoulder press (you’ll probably start with 15 to 25 pounds).  Keeping your back slightly arched and your right arm straight, stand with your feel shoulder-width apart and behind your legs until the dumbbell is hanging between your knees [A].  press your feet into the floor and jump.  When your feet leave the floor, shrug your shoulders [B] while keeping your right arm straight.  Use your momentum and bend your elbow [C] to lift the dumbbell in a straight line over your head, then land with your knees bent [D].  Lower the dumbbell back to its starting position and repeat.  Do three sets of two to six repetitions with each arm.

 

Trimming Tools

Keep your muscles awake with this fat-burning program.  Do four sets of 10 repetitions of each exercise.  Rest 60 seconds between sets, 3 minutes between exercises, and a day between workouts.  Do this routine 3 days a week.  It will take you only 15-minute workout.

1.  Uneven-step squat

Day 1:  stand with a barbell resting on your trapezius, with your left foot on an exercise strip and your right foot to the right of the step.  Lower your body until your right thigh is parallel to the floor.  Pause, then return to the starting position.  Do one set this way, then switch sides.  Day 2:  same as Day 1, but explode upward so that the foot off the step leaves the floor.  Day 3:  same as Day 2, but move from one side of the step to the other—moving one foot from the step to the floor and back.

2.  Walking jerk lunge

Day 1:  stand holding an EZ-curl bar overhead.  Step forward with your left leg so that it’s thigh is parallel to the floor and your knee is over (not past) your toes.  Bring your right leg even with you left, then repeat the lunge with your right leg.  Alternate legs until you complete the set.  Day 2:  same as Day 1, but hold the bar at your collarbone and press it up as you lunge forward.  Lower it as you bring your feet together.  Day 3:  raise the dumbbells (held with palms facing you)  out to your sides as you lunge;  lower them as you step together.

3.  Baseball swing

Day 1:  stand holding a 5-pound plate or dumbbell with both hands, your arms in front of you at chest level.  Swivel your torso to the right as far as you can, then to your left as far as you can.  Continue this movement for 10 seconds, then increase your speed for 20 seconds.  Day 2:  same as Day 1, but move the weight in a sideways figure-eight motion.  Day 3:  Same as Day 2, but sit on the floor with your legs bent and feel flat, and lean back from the hips at a 45-degree angel.