Weak Fitness

Many people reading the title of this article will wonder, “Why would anyone want to even consider bodybuilding over 40 years old?”

Most people might be forgiven for being surprised to learn that a great many people over 40 are already into bodybuilding.  Some even actually compete in bodybuilding competitions in special age categories.  Many of these senior athletes, some in their 70’s and 80’s, have traveled around the world to demonstrate what bodybuilding over 40 can accomplish.

For those wondering about all this it must be said that bodybuilding, in addition to being a form of competition in which bodybuilders push the limits in terms of exercise and nutrition, is, when done at a lower level, just a darn fine exercise program for people of all ages.  In fact, many organizations concerned with health are actively recommending bodybuilding styles of training for people in their 80’s or even 90’s!  Studies again and again demonstrate that bodybuilding over 40 is an excellent method for improving strength and condition at any age, not to mention the other effects of weight loss, improved immune system function, greater pleasure out of life, and less likelihood of injury and faster recovery after illness or injury.

Another important, aspect of bodybuilding over 40 is the contribution which it makes to the overall health of the senior citizen.  Visits to the doctor, illnesses, including age-related illnesses, hospitalizations, and the increasing need for prescription drugs will, in most cases, be reduced or prevented by this sort of activity.  This can aid in reducing the increasing costs of medical treatment which currently burdens society and the individual.  Also, medical personnel and equipment, all of which are in short supply at the moment, would be freed up to respond to the needs of other members of society.

So who’s endorsing bodybuilding over 40?

The National Institute of Health, the National Institute on Aging, and the Veteran Administration’s Research Education and Clinical Centers, are but a few programs and organizations which recognize and encourage bodybuilding over 40 and even beyond.  Additionally, many privately owned fitness centers are now offering programs specifically targeted at seniors interested in trying out these special ‘iron pills’ known as free weights as a part of their anti-aging regimen.

Regular progressive resistance training, usually done with either free weights or exercise machines, can restore muscle tissue, increase strength and endurance, increase bone mass and density, relieve arthritis pain, assist with weight loss and weight management, while improving the person’s ability to function independently in most situations.  Numerous studies have shown that, if done properly and with consideration of the diminished strength and function and the increased risk for injury that comes with age, bodybuilding over 40 can be one of the most effective and rewarding activities any senior can attempt.

As far as the many bodybuilding exercises themselves are concerned, the senior bodybuilder is generally free to attempt any normally used by his or her younger counterpart.  Since it is not necessary to strive for extremes in order to receive continually increasing benefits, the senior bodybuilder can proceed at his or her own pace, adding resistance or increasing repetitions as his or her condition and ability improves.

Unlike bodyweight exercises, such as pushups and chin-ups, the use of free weights or exercise machines allows the exerciser to choose the resistance level that he or she is comfortable using, and increase the weight or resistance in graduated steps.  This type of training allows a wider range of exercises so that specific muscle groups can be worked, and many of the newer exercise machines allow even greater concentration and isolation.

Once a simple, regular, moderate strength training routine has been established, following up that two or three day a week workout, or alternating it, with a moderate cardio (cardiovascular) workout done three to five times a week will produce seemingly unbelievable results in most senior bodybuilders.

Strength training can be effective if done as little as two days a week, and many bodybuilders, over 40 or otherwise, will work one group of body parts on two days, and work the remainder on two other days.  This makes a workout easier to complete than trying to do full body workouts.

A common ’split workout’ could be chest and arms (biceps and triceps) on Monday and Thursday, for example, with back, legs, and abdomen being trained on Tuesday and Friday.  Each strength workout could be followed by a brisk walk, for example, or the walk could be done later in the day.  Other splits, such as dividing ‘pushing’ and ‘pulling’ exercises, are also done by many bodybuilders.  Adding two extra walks on off days could make a simple, four hour a week workout effective for weight loss, fitness, and health.

All in all, unlike the strange idea it seems to some at first, bodybuilding over 40 could be the wave of the future.

Bodybuilding is a rewarding process of using Progressive Resistance Training to build a strong and muscular body. Progressive Resistance simply means increasing the weight (resistance) you use in an exercise as the muscle becomes stronger

Increasing resistance is possible due to the body’s ability to adapt to stress by becoming stronger in response to the stimulus of exercise. Simply put, when you work a muscle hard, the fibers are actually damaged or broken down and the body responds by repairing the muscle and making it slightly bigger and stronger to prepare for the work to be repeated. If the work (exercise) is repeated frequently (with enough rest in between for the repair process to take place) with increased resistance each time, theoretically, the muscle will get progressively larger and stronger. That is the main idea of how bodybuilding works.

It is a simple process, but there are many variables that can affect how fast and how much the muscle will grow. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

Nutrition

Rest

Intensity of workouts

Frequency of workouts

Nutrition is a huge part of successful bodybuilding. I would highly recommend reading everything you can get your hands on dealing with bodybuilding nutrition and supplementation. One way to keep informed in this area is to subscribe to a good Bodybuilding magazine such as Flex or Muscle & Fitness. Both of these fine bodybuilding magazines have many great articles each month dealing with diet, nutrition and supplements.

Rest is another important area to consider. In this day and age, it is not unusual to get less than 6 hours of sleep a night for a lot of people. I recommend trying to get at least 8 hours if at all possible, even if you need to take a nap! Muscle growth mostly occurs at night, during sleep, which makes it very important to get a lot!

Workout intensity is something that entire books have been written on. I recommend reading up on this topic as well. Flex and Muscle & Fitness deal with this topic in depth. Basically you need to find the right amount of intensity to trigger muscle growth. When a bodybuilder is just starting out, it does not take much to trigger new muscle growth. However, the body will quickly adapt to repeated stress and this can cause muscle growth to slow or stop all together. When this occurs, bodybuilders refer to it as a “plateau”. This is the time to increase the intensity of your training. The muscle must be subjected to a new kind of stress that it is not used to in order to stimulate new growth. Fortunately, there are many methods of changing the workout intensity, but that is beyond the scope of this article.

Frequency of workouts is something that will vary from bodybuilder to bodybuilder. A bodybuilder may workout anywhere from 3 to 7 days per week. you will want to try several different schedules to see what is best for you. You must give your muscles enough of a break between workouts to repair themselves, but you don’t want to wait too long between workouts or you will not get maximum results.

Getting Started

First and foremost, check with your physician to make sure you are in good physical condition to start a weight lifting or bodybuilding program! I recommend that beginners to bodybuilding start with a simple workout plan. This plan should consist of one exercise per bodypart, working the entire body 3 times per week.

Bodyparts are divided as follows:

Chest (pecs)

Back (lats)

Shoulders (delts)

Triceps (back of upper arm)

Biceps (front of upper arm)

Forearms Abdominals (abs)

Quadriceps (front of thigh)

Hamstrings (back of thigh)

Calves (back of lower leg)

Here is an example of a workout:

Bench press

Lat pulldowns

Military Press

Tricep pushdowns

Barbell curls

Crunches

Leg extensions

Leg curls

Standing Calf raises

You should start out each exercise with a warm up set. For this set, choose a relatively light weight that will allow you to do 25 reps without killing yourself. This prepares the muscles and tendons to move bigger weights. Then do 3 sets of each exercise of 8-10 repetitions.

For your first set, choose a weight that will allow you to 10 reps without struggling too much. Rest for 30-60 seconds, then increase the weight for your second set that makes 10 reps considerably harder. For your third set, choose a weight that is heavy enough that you cannot do any more than 8-10 reps no matter how hard you try. This is called muscular failure. You must take your muscles to the point of failure or they will not grow. It is at this point that your muscles will be triggered to grow because they are being asked to do something they never did before and their natural response is to become stronger.

Keep an accurate record of the amount of weight you use on each set, so you can track your progress.

It will take a bit of trial and error until you find the correct weight in each exercise. Be sure to take care when you first start out not to load the bar up with some ridiculous weight that may cause injury to your muscles, tendons, or your foot when you drop it!

As time goes on and you are diligently following your training program, you will notice that when you get to rep number 10 on your last set, you feel like you can do one or two more. This is good! Go ahead and do one or two more for a total of 11 or 12. When you are able to do this for 2 or 3 workouts in a row, it is time to increase the weight in that particular exercise.

If you are training a relatively large muscle group, such as chest or quads, you may try increasing the weight by 10 or 15 pounds. If you are doing biceps or delts, then maybe increase only 5 pounds or even 2.5 pounds. The new weight should limit you to 7 or 8 reps on the last set. Soon you will be back up to 12 with the new weight, and then you will bump the weight up even more. These increases are what you are working so hard for. Increased weight means increased strength, which means increased muscle mass!

Be sure to write everything down as you train. This is very important for several reasons. First, you may not remember what weight you used in a particular exercise the next time you workout, and you will waste time and effort having to figure it out again! Second, you need be able to gauge your progress as time goes on. It is an awesome feeling and great motivation to see that a month ago you were using 10 or 20 pounds less in a particular exercise than you are using now! I recommend getting a good training journal, but you can use any pad of paper. Create a space for the following data for each workout:

Date

Muscle Group worked

Exercise name

Number of sets

Number of reps in each set

Weight used each set

Personal Notes

Write things down that may have a positive or negative affect on your workout, such as energy level, whether you were tired or still sore from your last workout, or maybe your left shoulder has been bothering you, etc. If you are detailed here, you may be able to learn some important clues as to what makes you have a good workout verses an “ok” workout. Maybe you’ll find that when you workout right after work you have more energy than when you wait until 8 o’clock. Perhaps you will notice that eating certain things before training causes you to feel stronger and more energized. Write down if you have a cold, or if you are recovering from an injury, or if any particular exercise hurts you when you do it. Some of these notes will be important in the future.

Use this program for 4-6 months and you should see some real progress. At that time, you may want to start to include some advanced techniques to increase your workout intensity in order to continue making good gains.

While is is well-known that exercise is a necessity for effective weight loss, there is quite a bit of conflicting information as to what kind of exercise and how much of it will produce optimal fat burning. Experts often disagree as to what the “correct” exercise is for maximum weight loss. This disagreement is often due to a misinterpretation of research that only gives a part of the whole story. In addition, different individuals will actually benefit from different exercise programs, so universal exercise recommendations really cannot be made.

Let’s begin with what the current research on exercise physiology tells us. It is well-established that it takes approximately 30 minutes of any kind of exercise for the body to burn off its glycogen (stored sugar) reserves and begin burning fat. Because of this, many experts will recommend half an hour to an hour of exercise to produce a good amount of weight loss. Now, if you are going to be exercising for 30 to 60 minutes, or maybe more, what type of exercise would you be able to do for that length of time? It probably would have to be low to medium intensity. In other words, you’re probably not going to be able to run full speed or do any other type of high-intensity exercise for 30 to 60 minutes without a rest, unless you happen to be an elite athlete, and even then you’d be struggling. So, by default, the common recommendation for exercise to lose weight has been 30 to 60 minutes of low to medium intensity aerobic exercise. Aerobic means “with oxygen”, so you might think of aerobic exercise as anything you can do without getting seriously out of breath.

In recent years, some experts have changed their recommendations to using a more intense anaerobic (”without oxygen”) exercise program for weight loss. This would include things like intense weight lifting, and something called “interval training”. Interval training involves brief bursts of high intensity activity with periods of rest or low intensity activity in between. For example, you might run full out for 30 seconds or a minute and then walk for a minute or two until you catch your breath and then run again full out for 30 seconds to a minute, walk again, etc.. Because this kind of workout is much more strenuous, it is performed over a much shorter period of total exercise time – about 20 to 40 minutes (at least half of which is rest time), as compared to half an hour to an hour of non-stop exercise as is recommended with low to medium intensity aerobic workouts. The question is, how do the two types of exercise compare in terms of their ability to promote fat burning?

The aerobic exercise promoters point to the research that was mentioned earlier that has shown that any exercise, no matter how intense requires at least 30 minutes to use up the body’s stored glycogen (the body will normally burn glycogen before it will burn fat) before fat burning can begin. So, they say, short periods of even highly intense exercise won’t burn much fat and is therefore not a good choice for promoting weight loss. But they are only seeing part of the story.

It is true that you must exercise for at least 30 minutes to begin to achieve fat burning – but that’s at the time you are exercising. Brief bursts of intense anaerobic exercise does something that even quite a lot of low to medium intensity aerobic exercise does not. Intense anaerobic exercise stimulates the production of growth hormone, which is a strong stimulator of fat burning. The thing is, the release of growth hormone triggered by intense anaerobic exercise comes 24 to 48 hours AFTER the exercise, and then it produces considerably more fat burning than is possible with all but extremely long periods of low to medium intensity aerobic exercise.

Because of this effect, most people will lose weight much more easily by doing shorter periods of more intense exercise. 20 to 40 minutes of heavy weightlifting, interval training (which could be done on foot, on a bicycle, swimming, kickboxing, etc.Any kind of activity in which there are periodic bursts of intense exertion interspersed with rest periods, or periods of low intensity activity is typically preferable in the long run for weight control than even long hours of lower intensity aerobic exercise.

Now, you’ll notice that I said “most people”. There is an exception to the rule. Anyone who is seriously emotionally or physically stressed in his or her daily life is prone to overstimulated adrenal glands. The adrenal glands do a lot of things in the body, but with regards to weight loss, they produce two hormones. One hormone is cortisol, which promotes fat deposition in the lower abdomen. This is typically a saggy, pendulous fat held below the waistline. The other hormone the adrenals produce is adrenaline (also called epinephrine), which actually promotes fat burning. Since the adrenals produce cortisol which causes fat deposition and adrenaline which promotes fat burning, you might assume that these two hormones cancel each other out. The thing is, cortisol can be produced by the adrenals for a much longer time than adrenaline, which is produced for brief periods, so in the long run, the cortisol effects (fat storage in the lower abdomen) win out when you are under chronic stress.

The adrenals are influenced by physical stress as well as mental stress, so for someone who is under a lot of stress in general in his or her life, high-intensity exercise will only add to the total stress and will tend to make the adrenals produce a lot of cortisol, and therefore will tend to promote lower abdomen weight gain. Yes, you read that right – excessive exercise for someone under a lot of stress can actually cause that person to deposit MORE fat around the lower belly! This can result in the frustrating situation in which one exercises more and more and harder and harder to try to get rid of that lower abdomen stomach “pooch”, but never can seem to get rid of it. Because the intense exercise is stimulating more cortisol production, that person is fighting a losing battle. Because of this effect, it is recommended that people under a lot of stress and/or who have most of their weight held in the lower abdomen stick to relatively low intensity aerobic exercise. This type of exercise tends to help with stress control and lowers cortisol levels, allowing the lower belly fat to gradually be burned off.

I hope that this article has given you a better concept of how to maximize your exercise routine for the best possible weight loss results.

Do a search on the internet for six pack abs, 6pack, abdominals, 6 pack abs, abdominals, or washboard stomach and you will get millions and millions of results. You can immediately qualify 90% of these articles as myths by taking a scientific approach. Here are the top 10 myths that are used against you in advertising for abdominal products and dietary supplements.

1. You need to do a lot of abdominal exercises to get 6pack abs.

If you have fat surrounding your mid section, you should spend most of your time doing high intensity cardio and full body weight training. Increased metabolism from high intensity exercise will help you uncover your abdominal muscles. Doing abdominal exercises does absolutely nothing for the fat. You must consume a low calorie diet and exercise regularly.

2. You just don’t have any muscle in your abdominal region.

Everybody has an anatomy chart defined 6pack, but the problem is there is usually a layer of fat covering the muscle. Losing body fat cannot be accomplished by doing crunches.

3. If you take a diet pill you will get a 6pack.

Diet pills are a short term solution. If you take a fat burner it is most likely to be laced with caffeine which will cause you to develop a dependency and crash. Some pills cause your body to expel nutrients such as fat which cause unpleasant effects such as diarrhea and nutrient deficiencies.

4. You should NOT be eating carbohydrates in order to get 6pack abs.

Carbohydrates are your body’s primary source of fuel for the intense exercise you need to increase your metabolism to burn fat efficiently. Sticking to complex carbohydrates with fiber such as vegetables, sweet potatoes, oatmeal and brown rice will satisfy your hunger as well as give you long lasting energy with comparatively small amounts of food compared to processed foods.

5. Exercising long and slow is the best method of getting 6pack abs.

Long cardio sessions cause your body to produce excess cortisol which is a hormone which causes excess muscle tissue breakdown. Short duration (20-30 minutes) high intensity cardio could burn almost twice as many calories during the time you are exercising. It continues to accelerate your calorie burning for hours after exercise as well as preserves your muscle mass.

6. Getting 6pack abs requires hours of exercise every single day.

If you eat a fast food or “see food” diet, this may be the case. If you use self discipline with your diet, short bouts of intense exercise in the gym or doing the activities you like will help you burn fat without becoming a gym rat. One of the best ways to get better results in any fitness program is doing something you enjoy for exercise, which will keep you motivated to exercise longer and more intense.

7. Taking steroids you will get a 6pack.

Steroids are an anabolic hormone. Anabolic means building. Steroids are used for building muscle, not burning fat. People that take steroids and have 6pack abs are following a strict training and diet regimen which does not require steroids to get the same results.

8. Using products on TV are the best way to get a 6pack.

These products are most likely gimmicks that will be there a few months, make a few hundred million dollars and disappear only to reappear at garage sales across the country. They are largely ineffective and usually copying an existing exercise and repackaging it to make it look better.

9. You will never be able to have a 6pack, because of poor genetics.

6pack abdominals requires a low percentage of body fat. The 6pack is always there, but unfortunately so is the fat.

10. Having a personal trainer will guarantee you a 6pack.

Having a personal trainer is great, but unless you are training 5-7 times per week with them, you won’t get a 6pack. You have to put in the time and effort, get good instruction and use self discipline and your effort will pay off with 6pack abs. When working with a trainer, ALWAYS perform extra cardio so your trainer can focus on intense resistance training during the training sessions.

The theory of body types or “Somatypes” categorizes basic unisex human body types: the Endomorph, characterized by an abundance of body fat; the Mesomorph, marked by a well-developed lean, musculature; and the Ectomorph, distinguished by a lack of either much fat or muscle tissue.

Body typing has been around fitness and bodybuilding circles for decades. It was pioneered by American physician, Dr. William H. Sheldon around 1940.

Dr. Sheldon’s original body types have been renamed in recent years. Ectomorphs have become “Thyroids”; Endomorphs became “Lymphatics” and Mesomorphs turned into “Androids”.

A new body type category was created too. It’s called the Gynaeoid (”guy-noid”) body type and it applies to women only.

In the new body type classifications, the Gynaeoid (”guy-noid”) body type is characterized by “excessive estrogens promote fat deposition around the lower parts of the body as well as cellulite”. “Pear-shaped” is a accurate description for Gynaeoid body type.

Gynaeoids tend to have small to medium shoulders and the breasts vary in size. The hips and thighs curve outwards and weight gain occurs only below the waistline.

Actress-Singer Jennifer Lopez is the poster child for the Gynaeoid body type.

Gynaeoid women tend to have a predominance of the estrogen which targets the uterine region, the hips, thighs and breasts.

If weight loss is attempted by following a very low fat low calorie diet, there is a reduction from the breasts, shoulders and arms etc., losing pounds and inches from the lower regions is more difficult.

In contrast, the Android or Mesomorph body types are characterized by broad shoulders, a large rib cage and strong shapely muscular limbs.

It’s no coincidence that Android is synonymous to androgyny: Android women tend to be “boyish” in the hip area. They are shaped more like ruler than an hour-glass. The waistline is not accentuated.

World-re-known entertainer Madonna is a perfect example of the Android body type.

Android women have an anabolic metabolism, which favors body building tendencies. Like the Mesomorph, Android body types build muscle fairly easily. They also tend be mentally tough as well.

Weight gain occurs in the upper part of the body and on the front of the abdomen, so that an “apple-shaped” torso may develop.

The prevailing myth is that Endomorphs have trouble losing weight. Ectomorphs can’t keep seem to gain weight, and Mesomorphs have the best of both worlds – that is they can eat whatever they want and never gain an ounce.

Although they do exist, it is rare to find anyone who is a pure “ecto”, “endo”, “meso” “andro” or “gyno”.

We tend to be unique combinations of each inheriting genetic characteristics from our family gene pool.

For example, I have an Ectomorpic/Thyroid frame (narrow, thin bones), but my body composition is solidly Android/Mesomorph with annoying Endomorphic/Lymphatic tendencies around my mid-section (many inches to pinch) and rear end parts.

It’s extremenly important to know which body type you most favor because what often works for one body type when it comes to diet, exercise and weight loss (or gain) can be absolutely disastrous for another.

Knowing your body type is THE KEY to taking the right action to improve your current health situation for the better.

To Your Health & Well-Being.

Spring break is rapidly approaching and gyms all over the country are starting to get packed with people hoping to get a few last minute workouts in. If you’re one of those, you need to realize that you can’t completely change your body in one or two months. You can however make a difference that is big enough for people to notice. If you’re serious about changing the way you look, you’ll need to work hard from now until spring break.

There are two types of exercises you’ll be utilizing to tone and sculpt your body in a short period of time. You’ll start off with some resistance training to improve your definition and then you’ll move on to an aerobic or cardiovascular workout to burn the layer of fat that is covering your muscles.

Unlike a regular person starting an exercise routine, you are looking to get into shape quickly and have little time to gradually start exercising. The changes you need to make need to happen now if you have any chance of reaching your goal of having an attractive spring break body.

An important element that is often overlooked is warming up. If you skip it, you’ll be too sore the rest of the week to complete your routine. Before you start any exercise, hop on a treadmill or bike for 5 minutes and use a low speed to warm up your muscles. Next, pick one stretch for each muscle and hold it for 15-30 seconds.

You’ll need to do your resistance training program three times per week for the first two weeks and four times per week after that. Each day you go to the gym will be a full body workout. You’ll do both upper and lower body on one day.

First you’ll need to pick one machine for each of the following muscle groups: quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, chest, back, lower back, shoulders, biceps, triceps and abs. Start with your legs and do 1-2 sets on each machine and count 8-12 repetitions for each set. The weight you pick should be heavy enough that on your last repetition (somewhere between the 8th and 12th) you really can’t do anymore. If you can do more, you need to increase the weight. It should take you about an hour if you follow these guidelines.

Next, you’ll work on your cardio routine. During the first two weeks, do cardio 4 times per week. For the remaining time, do cardio 5-6 times per week. It doesn’t matter what activity you do (biking, running, tennis, swimming or any other sport) as long as you do it for at least 30 minutes, not including warming up and cooling down. You can even do 15 minutes on one machine and 15 minutes on another. Don’t forget to cool down by reducing your intensity until your heart rate dips below 120 beats per minute.

This plan is for people who don’t regularly workout but are in otherwise good health and would like to see some improvement in the way they look for spring break. With time in short supply, you need to take advantage of everyday. Getting into a routine at the last minute is better than never getting into one at all. For next year, the best advice you can get is to start your spring break makeover early so you won’t have to make difficult changes overnight.

The fact is you no longer need to spend anymore money or time going to the gym, all you need you is some space and little or no equipment.

When you learn how to get into great physical shape from home you are now in control. The great thing about training at home or in your yard or a local park is how quick you will build strength and endurance.

The more natural you train the more athletic you become.

Using your own bodyweight will test the most physically fit, you can make bodyweight training as easy or as hard as you want it to be.

Bodyweight training builds a different type of toughness a toughness that you need to concentrate your efforts to get though a gut check workout.

Most men aren’t physical enough to use their own bodyweight and would rather spend time walking on a treadmill than getting a workout that will build an overall level of fitness.

You will benefit more and save alot of time and burn a lot fat if you did sprints or jumped rope rather than walking on a treadmill.

Using your own bodyweight will build a strength you can’t get from weight training a strength that is more natural and one that will keep your body lean, flexible and athletic.

Burning fat and weight loss seems to be the main concern for most men and women, using your bodyweight and training as natural as possible as well as eating as simple as possible will bring you amazing results.

Doing simple bodyweight exercises for a short period of time will give you the proof you need that bodyweight training is a serious way of training.

Do the exercises with no rest.

1 minute Sprint in place.

Jumping Jacks.

30 seconds Bodyweight squats.

Pushups.

Rest for 1 minute then repeat 3 more times.

We know that we need to lose weight and… we know that joining a gym was a good choice.  But, what’s next.Where are you going?  What will it look like when you get there?  How will you know if you’re there or not if you’re not sure where you are going?

The first thing you need to know about goal setting is that you must be as specific as possible.  “I want to drop a few pounds” is not going to cut it.  You will want to sound more like “I will lose 20 pound, and weigh 125 lbs. in the next 8 months”.

Notice that the second goal was stated in a positive, present tense affirmation.  This is how you will write and repeat your goals.

In preparing your goals you should purchase a fresh spiral bound notebook; college ruled is me personal favorite. Then create 10 positive, present tense goals in the form of affirmations and write them down on the first page.

The goals should reflect EVERY area in your life that you would like to see a positive improvement in.  Now, many of you may be asking, “why not just write my fitness goals?”

Your entire life and lifestyle determines your level of fitness.  A small example – you and your teenaged daughter have been at odds about her new boyfriend.  With a family issue like this adding physiological load to your emotional system, your body will respond by releasing stress hormones such as cortisol.  Cortisol is a catabolic hormone, this type of hormone sacrifices
muscle tissue at the expense of storing body fat.  This is a survival mechanism that your amazing body had developed as a result of a need to “fight or flee”.So, it should be obvious that one of your 10 goals should be “I communicate openly and lovingly with my daughter.”

Write these 10 goals in your notebook every day.  You will be repeating the same goals on a daily basis.  This will activate your subconscious mind to go to work for you.  When you activate your subconscious mind on a daily basis with positive present-tense goals you will bring those things which you desire into your life much faster than someone who is simply wishing for things to get better. An old acronym that you may be familiar with is, to make sure your goals are S.M.A.R.T – Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Realistic – Timely.Well, there you have it… setting goals
is the first thing that you must do for fast fitness results!

I must admit, I don’t like to exercise. If I could maintain my current weight and health, I don’t know that I would. Let’s face it, I didn’t carry around 147 extra pounds by my love for exercise. What I do love is maintaining my healthy weight, a happier and healthier life, and the other habits that allow me to be happier than ever in my life. Exercise is a part of that. That is what I love.

Truthfully, I have struggled in maintaining an exercise routine. My thinking is that for only 30 to 45 minutes a day a few days per week, I get to maintain my weight loss, feel stronger physically, mentally and emotionally. Circumstances don’t hit me and make me feel like a victim of life just waiting. My weight loss has given me that! By exercising for a few minutes out of the 24 hours per day that you are given is a very small investment for the gigantic payoff of a happy life. If only the stock market and our economy would pay off in a big way for such a small investment!

To continue exercising, I need motivation. Through coaching, I was able to come to the realization that 30 to 45 minutes per day a few days a week gives me a happier, healthier life for the 23-1/2 hours in the rest of my day. Now, that’s a major payoff. That’s my motivation. Through coaching, you can find yours too.

Motivation is generated or dismissed in your head. So, here’s some ways to convince your head to get fit, stay fit, and invest in yourself through exercise:

1. Exercise out of the gym. All activity and movement equals exercise. Exercise is a mindset. Rather than drive around for 10 minutes looking for the closest parking space, park in the last row where there are virtually no other cars and walk to your store. You’ll get there quicker, burn less gas and burn more calories. While others are mindlessly standing on the escalator or wasting minutes waiting for the elevator, climb the stairs. Again, you’ll be there while the others are wasting their time and hanging on to calories they could have burned. Look for opportunities to be active. Exercise doesn’t count as exercise if it is within the walls of a gym. Think of exercise as all ways that you move your body.

2. Set an exercise goal. Decide that you’d like to participate in a walk/run event, train for a long distance walk, work with a personal trainer, increase your frequency or duration by a certain time. Give yourself rewards for reaching your exercise goals.

3. Ban boredom. Who wants to exercise if you are bored? Mix it up. One of the most popular television shows is celebrities that are learning ballroom dancing. Many of them have toned and lost impressive amounts of weight. Take dancing lessons to have fun and count as exercise. Other fun forms of exercise can include bowling, snowboarding, Zumba, swimming, water aerobics, walking your dog, or even laser tag. Rather than think of exercise, think about exercise combined with fun. Actual physical activity isn’t boring at all. How you do it though can be. Reframe exercise as exercise combined with fun.

4. Exercise Multi-Tasking. While you’re exercising, watch your favorite recorded television shows or dvd. Listen to audiobooks only while you’re exercising. Load up your iPod or MP3 player with your favorite motivational songs. Listen to those tunes only while you’re exercising. There are video games that you can dance to that definitely work up your heart rate as exercise. You’ll have so much fun you’ll forget you’re movement counts as exercising.

5. The more the merrier – bring a friend. Exercise with a friend, coach or personal trainer. Anyone to make it fun, share the companionship of exercising together plus the bonus of accountability.

6. Turn challenges into successes. Does your vacation give you an excuse to put your exercise routine on hold? Is your workout time derailed by project commitments of your time at work? Does weather put the freeze on your regular activity? Deepen your commitment to yourself and exercise routine by looking for opportunities to move. Look for ways to incorporate activity into your vacation, set limits for your work projects, bring your exercise and activities indoors. You’ll strengthen your commitment and exercise muscle into a no-give dedication to your health.

7. Exercise Stars. After you’ve worked out and felt great, write it down. Start a journal or log with your thoughts after a work out. Use images of past successful exercise experiences to remind yourself how great you feel. When motivation is questionable, pull out your notes of past exercise sessions to remind you of those powerful positive feelings.

I can’t say that I’m in love with exercise. I’ve made friends with it and I like it. What I am in love with is my life following weight loss, maintaining my weight, feeling happier, stronger and healthier than ever before in my life. All of that for a mere 30-45 minutes per day? Now, that’s an investment and dividend payoff that gives and gives the other 23-1/2 hours in your day. Exercise is the investment that keeps on giving all through your day. An investment in yourself is the best one of all.

What bodybuilder does not want bigger, more defined arms? Most will do whatever bodybuilding workout program it takes for gains of 2 inches, or more on their arms.

The real good news is getting bigger arms can be very simple as long as you understand the proper bodybuilding workout routine principles described below.

Yes, you can develop bigger, more defined arms with minimal time exercise time invested.

Here are a few powerful bodybuilding workout tips you should be incorporating immediately into your weight lifting workouts in order to acquire muscular arms.

Please note: these are a few of the many secret weight training workout tips that are proven to deliver results.

1. Incorporate multi-jointed exercises into your bodybuilding routine.

When training your chest, shoulders, and back make sure you utilize multi-joint exercises. What this does is work,as the secondary movers, the arms. The arms mean simply the biceps, and triceps.

A good example of multi-jointed exercises are the bench press, shoulder press, row, pull down, and good old fashion pushup. More than one muscle group is being worked when you perform multi-joint exercises.

2. Increase your intensity.

In order to stimulate arm muscle growth resulting from your bodybuilding workout program you must increase your intensity of exercise.

You must enter the gym with a mindset of forcing the muscles to adapt, and grow. To do so you need to increase the weight lifting weight, reps, or simply decrease the rest between bodybuilding sets. Always make your bodybuilding workout progressive in nature. Keep attempting to beat the reps, and weight you logged in the previous arm workout.

3. Do not overtrain. Limit your sets

One of the biggest mistakes ninety nine percent of bodybuilders make is overtraining. They simply do too many sets; thus, not allowing the arms full recuperation.

Please understand your body has a limited recovery ability. Each additional set performed cuts into your total recovery ability. Thus, you will limit your results.

4. Hit the triceps hard.

The triceps comprise a majority of your arms muscle size. Make sure you incorporate close grip bench presses, dips, and triceps push downs to ultimately increase your triceps muscle size, and tone.

Strive to increase your intensity every time your step into the gym. After all, it is the quality of exercise, not the quantity. Make the most of your limited weight training sets performed by the arms.

5. Precise rest between workouts is mandatory for growth.

This number one mistake most bodybuilders make. They simply follow the more is better approach. Little do they know, more is a detriment to your bodybuilding workout results.

Each additional arm set performed cuts into the recovery ability of the muscle. Remember, the biceps, and triceps grow while at rest, not during the workout.

I always recommend 6-10+ days between arm workouts. As far as the number of sets, 2 sets of 2-3 exercises for the arms is optimal for growth. In other words, if you spend more than 10 minutes on your arms, you are overtraining. Beginning a weight training workout prior to full recovery will short circuit your muscle building results.

Here is a very good bodybuilding workout routine tip you can use to determine the exact number of rest days between training sessions. Track your weight, and reps. If your strength continues to increase, you are resting between training sessions in an optimal manner. If the weight plateaus, or decreases, add additional muscle building rest days between workouts.

You are now a few steps closer to developing bigger arms. By following the 5 bodybuilding workout tips above you will be closer to reaching your full genetic muscle building potential.