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Pre-Workout Workout – Stretching and Warming Up Guidelines
15
December
Mens Muscle Building

Pre-Workout Workout
By: Eric Howser

I cannot begin to stress the importance of stretching and warming up before a good lift. Anybody who is serious about building muscle will tell you that these are necessities to healthy muscle growth. For those of you who do not understand why, pay attention.

Stretching is the deliberate lengthening of muscles in order to increase muscle flexibility and joint range of motion, which is one of the most important parts of your exercise. Stretching improves flexibility, flexible muscles improve performance, and improved performance means faster growth. Stretching also increases blood flow to your muscles, which aids in the delivery of the needed fuels for your muscles to perform, and increased circulation can help shorten the recovery time of your muscles.

When stretching you need to use proper technique to avoid unnecessary injury. First, you must warm up your muscles to avoid a tear when stretching. This can be done by doing something as simple as walking a few laps and pumping your arms. Once you feel that you have warmed your muscles, you may begin to stretch. To avoid over stretching, never stretch past the point of pain. If you start to feel more than a moderate burn, slowly back off to a point where there is less pain. When stretching you should maintain a hold for at least 30 seconds to ensure that you lengthen your muscle tissue safely. While stretching NEVER bounce! Bouncing while you stretch can cause small tears in your muscles that leave scar tissue as your muscles heal. The scar tissue will begin to make your muscles tighter leaving you less flexible than before. Lastly, a light stretch before your regimen followed by a thorough stretch afterwards will prove to be the most beneficial.

Warming up is simply that, warming up. It’s meant to raise your body temperature and helps reduce muscle and connective tissue injuries. As the body temperature rises you begin to sweat, which in result decreases the amount of heat stored by your body. The decrease in stored body heat prevents your body temperature from reaching dangerously high levels during your regimen. A proper warm up also prepares the cardiovascular and muscular systems to transition from rest to strenuous exercise and prevents unwanted muscular soreness.

There is no big secret to warming up and stretching. It is meant to increase your performance, keep your body healthy, and allow you a quicker recovery time. If you can manage to follow the simple rules and use proper technique, you will see a significant change in your ability to perform longer and more productively.

Category: Workout Routines  2 Comments
21 Guns: Build Huge Biceps
19
November
Mens Muscle Building

21 Guns
By: Eric Howser

“Let me see you flex.” Any time you hear that from someone, you automatically go to showing off your biceps. Every time I hang out with my female friends and there are other men around, I always hear them saying, “Look at his arms, they’re so sexy.” This muscle has come to represent strength and masculinity in a man, so of course every guy is going to want biceps that attract attention. So how do you go about getting the arms you so desperately want? I’m going to tell you.

Everyone looking to increase the size of their biceps goes straight to a routine they get out of a magazine or from some website that claims to be able to give you ripped arms in just six weeks. I don’t know about you, but not only have I found it hard to keep up with the requirements of those routines, I’ve also noticed that my arms didn’t change like I expected. This is likely due to the fact that most of us don’t regularly kill ourselves in the gym like the guys who these routines are based off of. For the majority of us, our muscles need to be conditioned before we can be expected to stick with the kind of routines body builders use. This conditioning will not only get you ready to hang with the big boys in the gym, but will also improve how your biceps look in just three weeks.

“21 Guns” is by no means easy or painless, in fact it may prove to be quite the opposite, but if you can make it through you’ll love it. This workout is a three set routine with twenty-one reps in each set. It’s meant to focus on the outer and inner biceps separately, followed by simultaneously.

To begin this workout, you have to find a set weight that you are able to perform twenty-one reps with, you can use dumbbells, a straight bar, or a curl bar. You begin in a standing position holding the weight with a shoulder width grip and your elbows locked at your sides. While keeping your back and shoulders fixed curl the weight until your arms make a ninety degree angle, then slowly lower the weight to the starting position. You continue to do this seven times. After you raise the weight the seventh time hold for one second, then continue to curl the weight to your chest, lowering it to the ninety degree angle position. You also do this seven times. If you’re confused think of it as two separate half curls. The final installment of this routine is a full curl seven times. Take ninety seconds of rest between the three sets, and if you really want to challenge yourself, superset the routine with ten pull-ups before your rest. This routine is meant to be performed three days a week for three weeks, once you finish the three weeks you’ll be ready to really hit it hard like the guys in the magazines.

Category: Building Muscle, Workout Routines  7 Comments
Tips To Build Phenomenal 6 Pack Abs
17
November
Mens Muscle Building

My Abs My Routine
By Eric Howser

Most people want the washboard stomach that we all see on T.V. or in magazines, but believe it’s not possible for normal people to achieve. What those people fail to realize that it’s possible, it just takes dedication and consistency. Time and time again you hear people complain about their midsection and how all the workouts they attempt never seem to show improvement. Well this isn’t due to the ineffectiveness of the workout, but the inability of the person to stick to it. I’ve repeatedly had people ask me how I got such a dramatic change with the appearance of my body, and I simply reply, “Commitment.”

A great set of Abs isn’t easy to obtain, but like I said, it’s not impossible. I’ve tried many different Ab workouts, and came to realize that no one workout is perfect. After figuring this out I decided to try multiple workouts to see which ones I felt made the biggest impact. After trying countless excruciating routines and researching the most effective movements, I finally came up with my own.

First you have to know the types of movements your body makes when working your Abs. The three basic movements are those that consist of curling your torso and legs towards each other, twisting at the waist, and bending your sides. There are dozens of different workouts that are more than effective for each of these movements, but it’s crucial that when developing your routine that you find the ones that fit your lifestyle. What I mean by this is how you workout, in a gym with unlimited equipment or in your house with minimal equipment. To do this you can simply jump on your computer and look up Ab workouts on your search engine of choice, but remember that you need to choose at least two workouts for each movement. If you feel you are capable of handling more, go for it.

A common misconception is that it’s unhealthy to work one muscle group more than a few days a week. This may prove to be true for certain muscles, but it completely false for your Abs. Every movement you make uses some energy from your core muscles, so every part of your day could be considered a workout.

Due to my schedule I span my Ab routine across five days, and this can be modified to fit any schedule. This routine is not meant for those who quit due to difficulty, and is mainly a circuit routine. For the workouts that include hanging, you can manage these with nothing more than a pull up bar, but I find it less painful on the upper body if you invest in Ab Straps.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Circuit 1
Hanging Knee Raises: 30(with 20 pound ankle weights)
Weighted Crunches: 25-30
Double Crunches: 30-40
Elevated Shoulder Scissor Kicks: 40-50
Rest 90 seconds

Circuit 2
Hanging Leg Raises: 30
Weighted Crunches: 25-30
Double Crunches: 30-40
Elevated Shoulder Scissor Kicks: 40-50
Rest 90 seconds

Circuit 3
Russian Twists: (Timed) 60 seconds
Declined Sit Ups: 25-50
Planks: (Timed) 60 seconds

Tuesday and Thursday
Circuit 1
Hanging Knee Twists: 25-50(alternating sides)
Weighted Oblique Crunches(Side Crunches): 25-50(alternating sides)
Raised Shoulder Alternating Ankle Reaches: 50
Dumbbell Side Bend: 25(each side)
Rest 90 seconds

Circuit 2
Wind Shield Wipers: 25-50(alternating sides)
Weighted Oblique Crunches(Side Crunches): 25-50(alternating sides)
Raised Shoulder Alternating Ankle Reaches: 50
Dumbbell Side Bend: 25(each side)
Rest 90 seconds

Circuit 3
Lying Weighted Knee Raises: 25-50
Side Planks (Timed): 60 seconds (each side)
Standing Dumbbell Trunk Twists(Timed): 60 seconds

When doing this routine technique is key, you’ll know that you’re doing in correctly if the only things that hurt are your muscles. After you begin to get used to this workout, add more weight and lower the number of reps until you are able to reach the set reps with that weight. If you feel you have reached your limit for improvement, change the workouts to something new but maintain the three movements.

The final thing I want to talk about is your routine outside the workout. Inactivity can prove to be the most counterproductive thing someone can do. Most people feel that they did their physical exertion for the day and fail to realize that they aren’t meeting their full potential for their body. There are numbers of ways to work your Abs when doing everyday things. The most effective is keeping your Abs tight throughout the day. When just sitting around or even moving around, flex your Abs and try to maintain this for extended periods of time. You don’t have to do it 24 hours a day and you can’t rest between flexes. After a while this will become a habit and you will notice dramatic results.

Category: Building 6 Pack Abs, Building Muscle, Workout Routines  Leave a Comment
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