Category Bodybuilding

Strength Training Exercise for Upper Body Muscle Groups

If you are just starting to get into strength training, be sure your routines are balanced by targeting both upper and lower body muscles. In the upper body, be sure to include exercises that work the:

• biceps
• triceps
• shoulders
• chest
• back

The Biceps

• One of the most popular exercises for biceps is the curl:
• To begin, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Hold the weight with palms facing up, elbows in next to your body.
• Now (without moving them) bend at the elbows and bring the weight up and toward your body.
• Now slowly lower the weight back down to the starting position.
• The curl can be done with either a weighted barbell or with dumbbells.

The Triceps

The dip does not require any exercise equipment making it a great exercise to do when traveling. To start:

• Sit on a chair.
• Put your hands on the front edge of the chair seat.
• While supporting your weight with your hands and arms, move to the edge of the chair so the rest of your body is just off the edge of the chair
• Bend the elbows (no lower than 90 degrees) and lower your body down, keeping very close to the chair.
• Finish the exercise by pushing your body back up without locking the elbows.

The Shoulders

The overhead press targets the deltoids in the shoulder.

• Start by standing (or sitting) holding a weighted barbell with your elbows bent and hands at eye level.
• Push the barbell straight up until your arms are fully extended without arching your back.
• Lower the barbell back to the starting position.

The Chest

The basic press targets the major muscles of the chest, along with shoulder and triceps. To do the basic press:

• Lie on a weight bench with a weighted barbell over your chest, elbows bent at 90-degree angle.
• With your arms, press the barbell straight up.
• Lower back to starting position.

The Back

Rows are a great exercise to strengthen the muscles in your back. To start:

• With dumbbells in each hand, bend over at the waist until you are looking straight down at the floor. Keep your abs pulled in and knees slightly bent.
• Let the weights hang straight down from your arms, without locking your elbows.
• Bend the elbows and pull the weights up until your elbows are level with your body.
• Lower the weights back down to the starting position.

Beginners should strive to perform 1 to 2 sets of each exercise with 12 to 16 repetitions per set. As your fitness level advances, you can work up to 2 to 3 sets with 8 to 12 repetitions per set.

You know you are using the right amount of weight if the last repetition in the last set is very hard, if not impossible, to do. You know you have then hit muscle failure.

Strength Training Exercise for Lower Body Muscle Groups

If you are just starting into strength training, be sure your routines are balanced by targeting both upper and lower body muscles. In the lower body, be sure to include exercises that include working the:

• quadriceps
• hamstrings
• abdominals

The Quadriceps

The squat is a great exercise to target the quadriceps (quads). To perform the basic squat:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Bend at the knees and gently lower your body down until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
• Slowly raise your body back up to the starting position.

A variation of this is the assisted squat. The exercise is basically the same except you use a resistance band tied to a doorknob or stair rail to steady yourself. Put some resistance on the band by pulling it with both hands. Now perform the squat as usual.

The Hamstrings

The front lunge is a basic lower body exercise that works the hamstrings. To begin, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Now:

• With your left leg, step forward and lower your body until your thigh is parallel to the floor.
• Now with that same leg, push yourself back to the starting position.
• Either repeat with this same leg for the desired number of repetitions or use your right leg and alternate between legs until reaching your target number of reps.
• To work your hamstrings even more hold a dumbbell in each hand.

A variation of the forward lunge is the reverse lunge. The exercise is basically the same except instead of lunging forward, your move your leg backwards.

The Abdominals

A simple, but very effective exercise that targets your abdominal core is the bicycle.

• To begin, lie on the floor with your hands locked behind your head and bring your knees to your chest.
• Now lift your shoulders off the floor and straighten your left leg while rotating the upper body to bring the left elbow toward the right knee.
• Without lowering your upper body, switch sides, now bringing your right elbow toward your left knee.
• Continue this back and forth oscillation until you have reached your desired number of reps.
• Lower your upper body and legs back down to the floor between sets for a short rest.

If you are just starting out, your goal should be to perform 1 to 2 sets of each exercise with 12 to 16 repetitions per set. As your muscles develop, you can work up to 2 to 3 sets with 8 to 12 repetitions per set.

The great thing about these lower body exercises is that none of them require any equipment, so you can do them anywhere, making them great exercises to do while away from home. When you return home, you can mix up your workout routine and do your strength training exercises for your upper body muscle groups using weights and resistance.

Strength training, resistance training, working with free weights or machines and any other form of physical exertion can be dangerous if not approached properly. The 5 Strength Training Safety Tips included here are basics, and you may be taking them for granted currently.

But if your strength training workout is going to deliver the results you desire, you have to be healthy to implement it. That means if you are hurt, you can not work out, so follow these top 5 tips for strength training safety to ensure injury-free exercise.

1) Warm Up Before You Get Started, and Cool Down Afterwards

Okay, this is really two tips in one, and you are probably nodding your head and thinking, “I already knew this.” But a report from the Harvard Medical School shows that more than half of all non-professional strength trainers and weightlifters fail to either warm up before they get started, cool down afterwards, or both. And this can lead to injuries. Walking or climbing stairs for 5 to 10 minutes is enough to get your body ready for your workout, and the same amount of stretching will cool you down properly.

2) Practice Good Form

Don’t think about the weight, think about your form. Always align your body correctly according to the exercise or strength training move you are making. Poor form can not only result in injuries, both immediate and over time, but it can also slow down the delivery of the results you are looking for. Many strength training experts recommend starting with no weight or a very low weight at first until your muscle memory reflex helps you perform each exercise correctly.

3) Stick to an Established Routine

The human brain commits to memory and habit with anything you do 17 to 21 times in a row, in the same way, and at roughly the same time each day or night. Pick your strength training days for each week and stick with them. This “second nature” programming means you are less likely to injure yourself. It also helps your body understand when its muscles will be stressed and when they will repair, leading to more consistent results as you increase the weight, sets and reps in your strength training workout over time.

4) Give Your Muscles Time to Repair

Lots of water and proper nutrition are needed after you workout, and after an intensive strength training session, your muscles also require at least 48 hours to recover properly. When you stress your muscles, you create small tears in your muscle tissue. Not letting them heal before stressing them again can cause significant short and long-term injuries. Also, given proper hydration and nutrition as well as enough downtime, your desired results will start to materialize quicker.

5) Dress Appropriately for Strength Training Safety

Your clothing should allow for a full range of motion, regardless what exercises or routines your strength training regimen requires. Jeans are a no-no in the gym or wherever you workout regularly, because such restrictive clothing can cause a loss of balance and a significant injury, especially if you are dealing with heavy weights.

Safety should be your number one priority in the gym, your garage or wherever you decide to perform your strength training exercises. When handled properly, weightlifting and strength training are some of the safest physical exertion activities you can enjoy.

Whenever in doubt, think before acting or performing an exercise, and consult a trained professional if you ever have a question. Follow these 5 Strength Training Safety Tips, and you are sure to enjoy the biggest benefits from your workout, while helping eliminate injuries.

5 Common Strength Training Injuries and What to Do About Them

Strength training is a tool used by many athletes to help strengthen and develop their body and thus in the process reduce the risk of suffering an injury when playing other sports. However if not practiced correctly, one or more of the following injuries can occur when lifting weights:

1) Muscle Strain

A muscle strain or “pull” typically happens when you tear part of the fibers of a main muscle or tendon; it is usually caused by either stretching a muscle or tendon too far or trying to lift too much weight.

Muscle strains come in three levels of severity:

1. small tears with a little swelling and mild pain,
2. larger tears with more swelling and moderate pain,
3. considerable amount of torn fibers resulting in massive swelling, severe pain and total loss of mobility.

Treatment for the first and second level injuries is rest, ice and mild stretching. For the last level, surgery may be required depending on the severity of the tear.

2) Shoulder Impingement

Shoulder impingement is the inflammation of one of the rotator cuff muscles, usually caused by lifting too much weight; as a result the inflammation causes swelling. However this swelling also causes pain, localized weakness and even loss of movement due to the narrow space where the rotator cuff muscles go between the shoulder blade and collarbone.

Treatment includes reducing the swelling through icing down the shoulder and taking anti-inflammatory medications. Rehabilitation includes a specific range of motion and strengthening exercises usually prescribed by a physical therapist or sports medicine specialist. Heat, ice and ultrasound may also be prescribed.

3) Herniated Disc

Discs in our spine act as tiny shock absorbers to keep vertebrae from rubbing against each other. However, if we try to lift too much weight or lift improperly, one or more discs can push out against the fibrous outer ring or even break through it, called herniated disc.

Treatment ranges from rest and ice up to major back surgery depending on the severity of injury. In most cases, the cause of a herniated disc is from using improper form when lifting.

4) Ligament Sprain

Ligaments are the connective tissue that holds bones together, such as in a joint. A ligament sprain is normally caused by overstretching one of more of these connective tissues. Common sprain locations include joints such as the ankle, wrist and knee.

Ligament sprains, just like muscle tears, come in three grades:

1. mild over-stretching,
2. partial tear,
3. complete tear.

For the first two, treatment should include rest, icing down the affected area, wrapping with an elastic bandage and elevating the injured area to reduce swelling. For a complete tear, most often surgery is required. The most common cause of sprains while in the gym are unexpected falls or trips.

5) Muscle Contusion

Also known as a bruise, a contusion is usually caused by a blunt force hitting a muscle. The bruise forms due to blood seeping out from broken capillaries and into tissue. Along with a dark discoloration, there is usually swelling, pain and in severe cases, loss of strength and mobility.

Treatment of muscle contusions is the same as it is for the first two levels of ligament sprains – rest, ice, compression and elevation. Sometimes gently massaging the affected area can help restore blood flow and relieve the pain.

As you probably surmised, muscle contusions are associated with the unexpected dropping of weights onto fingers, toes, feet or other body parts.

Through proper lifting form, and knowing your limitation as far as how much weight you should be lifting, most of these injuries can be eliminated or at least reduced in severity. Lift safe – lift smart and use the 5 strength training safety tips listed above. For more helpful strength training tips visit the section on bodybuilding at http://myfitnessnut.com/bodybuilding and sign up for the free MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter.

Before learning how to avoid hitting a strength training plateau, we have to first know what causes one; in a word adaptation.

The human body can quickly learn how to make the most of a situation. So if you are eating about the same number (and types) of calories and doing the same strength training routines, your body adapts to that scenario and trains itself to do the same amount of work more efficiently.

To avoid hitting a those strength training plateaus, keep these four things in mind…

1) Eating

Not getting the right number or types of calories can affect your strength training progress. If you are looking to gain muscle, getting the right amount of protein is very important. Experts recommend eating 1 gram of protein for each pound of body weight per day. Serious bodybuilders tend to eat five or six moderately-sized meals spread throughout the day rather than three larger meals. Eating this way keeps your metabolism functioning at a higher level throughout the day.

2) Resting

If you start to feel tired and you are seeing your motivation going downhill, you may need to take some time off from your routine. This doesn’t mean sit around and do nothing; instead use this time to go for walks, do yoga and spend time with your family. To help avoid hitting a plateau in the first place, plan to take about a week off training every three to four months.

3) Sleeping

The body repairs itself and builds muscle during the time you are sleeping. If you are not giving it enough time to accomplish its maintenance task, it can affect your progress. Most training adults need seven to eight hours per night.

4) Routines

Some bodybuilders use a training system called periodization where they break down their training year into three periods – each with a different goal. One period might focus on strength, another on endurance, and a third on muscle tone. Because each period focuses on a different goal, the strength training exercises in each period are different thus preventing their body from adapting to a specific routine.

Other athletes use their same strength training routine, but change the intensity of their workout or take shorter rest periods between sets. Or they may use less weight, but add a significant number of repetitions per set.

Some athletes make minor changes such as the order of the exercises in their workouts. The point is there are many ways you can change your routine – even if the changes are small – that will challenge your body so it doesn’t get accustomed to a specific one.

Hitting a plateau can be more emotionally draining than physical. To keep from hitting one, keep these four things in mind when doing your exercises, listen to your body and consistently change things up.

Strength training is a type of workout which is based on the principle that resistance (such as weights) causes your muscles to contract. These exercises build physical strength, improve endurance, and increase the size of your muscles.

The Best Strength Training Workouts of Ancient Times

Strength training is not exactly a new thing. In fact, it’s been practiced for thousands of years. Excavation of some ancient Egyptian tombs revealed pictures of people lifting bags filled with sand or stone for exercise. Lifting weights became part of modern Olympics because the ancient Greeks themselves had weight lifting contests. Hippocrates declared that using muscles develops them and on the other hand, not using them will cause muscle wasting. Legend has it that the wrestler Milo of Croton used to carry a newborn calf on his back each day until it was fully grown.

All of these early people didn’t have any of the fancy equipment that we have today but they were still compelled to lift heavy objects because for them it was fun, because they wanted to see who was stronger, and they wanted to be fit and healthy.

The Best Strength Training Workouts of the 1700’s

As the centuries rolled on, man’s interest in lifting weights did not waver, and they began to come up with new ways of boosting their strength. Did you know that the dumbbell was first invented back in the 1700’s? They put a rod in between church bells, and removed the clapper that hit the side of the bell. When the clapper was taken out, the bells became dumb, which at the time meant mute or silent. That’s how they came up with the term dumbbell for the contraption.

The Best Strength Training Workouts of the 1800’s

In the 1800’s, people used Indian clubs, which originated from what the ancient Persians called “meels”. By the late 19th century they also developed the barbell, and by the early 20th century the adjustable, plate-loading barbells became more common.

The Best Strength Training Workouts of the 1900’s

Then came the 1930’s and the fame of Charles Atlas. Bodybuilding competitions soon became popular, starting with the contests on the aptly named Muscle Beach in Venice, California. When the Nautilus variable resistance machines became popular in the 1970s, more and more people became interested, as the new machines were less intimidating than the barbells. The 1970s also saw the fitness craze boom with the increased interest in jogging and of course, weight lifting.

Quite a few celebrities were known for their physiques, including such luminaries as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and a host of professional wrestlers and boxers. Today, the benefits of lifting weights are well known, and every serious professional athlete incorporates some sort of strength training in their workouts.

Even golf, supposedly the most relaxed and composed of sports, demonstrated the need for strength training when Tiger Woods – the most dominant golfer of his era and perhaps of all time – revealed that strength training was an integral component of his preparation.

Some of the best strength training workouts today can be found at MyFitnessNut.com with a few good examples being the Dumbbell Exercises at http://myfitnessnut.com/dumbbell-exercises and the Kettlebell Exercises at http://myfitnessnut.com/kettlebell-exercises. Both of those are complete strength training workout programs with written and video instructions.

When you workout, you’ll want to incorporate a good diet for building muscles. But what exactly constitutes a “good diet for building muscle” anyway?

For some people the only adjustments they’ll need to make is to add in additional calories. Those calories need to come from food sources that are proven to build muscles. Common names are high protein diets and weight gain diets. So, it’s not as simple as just adding in additional calories; you need the right kind of calories that also provide much needed nutrients that aid in cell rejuvenation and muscle development.

The Purpose of a Diet for Building Muscles

The entire reason to adopt a diet for building muscles is to make sure that your are providing your muscles with the proper nutrients they need when they are being worked, torn down and in recovery. The nutrients that you feed your muscles will have a direct impact on how quickly and how effectively repair and build up.

Your purpose is to gain weight in the muscle department but at the same time you want to be careful that the calories you are adding are not going to pack the fat on. Nothing can hide muscle definition, and your hard workouts, more than excess body fat.

How Do You Know What a Good Diet for Building Muscle is?

A rigorous weight training workout schedule is taxing on your entire body. By making sure that you fuel your body with the right nutrients you will be helping ensure that you have the energy to start and finish your workout as well as the ability to repair your muscle afterwards.

Since your body uses the protein that you consume to build muscles, you need to eat enough lean protein such as salmon, trout, halibut, cod, eggs, chicken and lean servings of beef, pork or buffalo. These lower fat foods will help you get the protein calories you need while helping you to avoid packing on body fat.

Most people that want to put on weight should eat 500 calories more each day, some a little more, some a little less by 500 calories extra a day equates to about a pound a week in body weight gain. We’re talking about muscle weight gain here so you need those extra calories to be primarily protein.

If you find it hard to eat more protein foods, you can always reach for protein supplements or meal replacement shakes. A couple of shakes a day mixed with milk can easily get you to those 500 calories in extra protein a day mark.

What is The Single Best Diet for Building Muscle Mass?

Due to the fact that people’s body’s and food choices are so entirely different, it’s hard to recommend any one single diet for building muscles. You must have the additional protein but you must also have the many nutrients your body needs everyday. For example, you can’t use protein powders for meal replacement because mostly all that they provide is the protein. You would need a meal replacement shake in this case that provides the many different nutrients your body needs.

A good way to find what works best for you is to experiment a little and try different ones every two weeks or so and see how your body is responding. You can learn more about your choices and what to look for in the article “Why Protein Intake for Building Muscles” and look at http://MyFitnessNut.com for more information on protein, supplements, muscle building and fitness in general.

It’s commonly known by people in the bodybuilding world that protein is required to build muscle mass. What’s really important to know is that your protein intake amount is adequate enough to feed your hard working muscles. If it’s not, your muscles will not develop well in contrast to the amount of work you’re putting in.

One way to know how much more protein to eat is to first figure out the overall calories you need to be eating for optimal muscle growth.

Building your muscles is much like gaining weight it takes between 300 – 500 calories to put on extra muscle mass or weight. Eating 500 calories extra every day will have you putting on about one extra pound every week. Keep in mind that you must be working your muscles to burn these extra calories so that they don’t end up as stored fat opposed to built muscle mass.

Now, if your plan is to use these extra consumed calories to build your muscles then you’ll want to convert the 300 – 500 calories into mostly protein. You don’t want to be increasing the amount of fat that your ingesting, although some fat is important. Lean cuts of meat will contain some fat, nuts will contain some fat and well designed protein shakes will contain some fat.

So, at any rate, don’t go overboard thinking you have to avoid fat completely. You do want your protein calories to be the bulk of these additional calories that you are consuming in order to accelerate your muscle building venture.

Work Your Muscles Hard but Ensure Proper Protein Intake When You Do.

Learning the concept of consuming the correct protein intake for building muscle is to understand that protein is the foundational building block for gaining muscle mass. With these protein building blocks in your system, when you train your muscles, you are stimulating your muscle growth cycle to develop your muscles at a much faster pace.

So it makes sense to work your muscles really hard but only if you have good amounts of protein in your body to feed those hungry worked muscles.

Why Building Muscle Mass without Proper Protein Intake is a Bad Idea

You may have heard the saying “Turn fat into muscle” and while it is true that when you workout, you’ll be losing fat and as long as you are maintaining a good protein level in your body, you’ll be gaining muscle. But you’re not actually turning muscle into fat.

The bottom line is that if you don’t consume the right amount of protein based on how rigorously you work your muscles, your muscles will not grow no matter how hard you work them. And on the flip side, you never want to over eat if you’re not burning the calories you consume because you will pack on fat pounds and that’s the exact opposite of what you want to achieve.

Many of the weight training professionals will recommend not eating extra on your rest and recover days even if your body and brain are screaming to be fed more food. Instead, they advocate physically resting up more on your rest days. What this habit will do is create an energy surplus in your body without feeding it more.

The benefit is that when you re-engage in performing an intense workout, your body will draw upon this surplus reducing your body fat stores. And as we all know, the less body fat you have surrounding you, the more your magnificent muscle tone shows itself off. Many times, the muscle tone is there… it’s just hiding.

How to Add More Protein to Your Diet

There are no one-size-fits-all answers to how much protein you should add because it can differ greatly from person to person. While one person might want to simply shape up, the next person may be looking at competition bodybuilding. One might want to get their increased protein intake from food, others may want to supplement; others will want to do both.

Increasing Your Protein Intake with Food

Everyone wanting to build up their muscles will have protein requirements unique to them so it’s a good idea to start slower rather than too fast. Keeping in tune with what was said earlier, you’ll want to start out by adding in an extra 300 calories of protein each day that you workout for three months.

Take a step back and see where you are at. If you’re not seeing the muscle growth you were expecting, increase your protein intake to 500 calories and compare notes in three more months. A local bodybuilding coach can help get you on the road to reaching your goals much faster because they can personalize this task for you and your goals.

Increasing Your Protein Intake with Supplements

Most protein choices contain higher amounts of fat and research has shown that low fat protein choices work just as effectively in building muscle. While you can easily add in low fat dairy items, lean meats like chicken, fish and turkey; a good quality protein supplement is a convenient way to “beef up” your protein intake.

There are many protein supplements to choose from; some good, some great and some that are not so good – even downright bad for you sorry to say. The most important thing to glean from this article is to find a way to increase your protein intake when your goal is to build muscles.

Secondly, your goal is most likely to simultaneously lose fat while building up your muscle tone. So, as logic plays out in our search for a good quality protein supplement you will want to look for low fat, low sugar, no artificial ingredients whatsoever; basically you want as pure of protein you can get in the supplement you choose and avoid all the garbage so many manufacturers throw in their products merely for the sake of marketing buzzwords.

Read the labels and like anything you’re thinking about putting in your body, it there’s a word you don’t understand… find out what the heck it is before you consume it!

You can learn more about whole food protein and protein supplements at http://MyFitnessNut.com but the big takeaway for this article is that you must increase your protein intake if you want to increase your muscle mass. You can lift weights from morning until the sun goes down and still not build muscle mass. That would be sad.

Reason; if you don’t feed your muscles protein when they’re being worked, your muscles will tear down and feed upon their very own protein leaving your muscle building goals stuck in the mud. Increase your protein intake to the amount that works for you and you’ll be smiling at the results of your efforts instead of wondering why your workouts aren’t working as well as you like.

Introduction to The 15-Minute Fitness Guide

In our busy lives, it’s often a struggle to find time to get everything done. Inevitably, important things can sometimes drop off our to-do lists or get pushed off our schedules.

For many of us, finding time to exercise is something we know we should do, but it’s often the first thing to get dropped.

Part of the problem may be that we think we need to find an hour or two a day, five or six days a week, in order to exercise. Or perhaps that you have to join a fancy full-service gym in order to have access to the latest and greatest exercise equipment.

Fortunately, the reality is much more forgiving. In fact, it’s possible to significantly improve your health and fitness with 15-minute workout sessions.

That’s what we’re going to talk about in this 15-minute fitness guide.

To continue reading, use the page numbers below or the table of contents to the right. Enjoy!

Benefits of Fitness Rope Training

The biggest benefit to rope training is to increase your strength, improve your endurance and your power. You will find that after training with heavy ropes you will be quicker, stronger and more agile. Which is one of the reasons why is that when pro athletes use this form of training they notice a huge difference when it comes to game time!

The other huge benefit of rope training is that you will notice a difference in your aerobic capacity. Rope training incorporates cardiovascular training with high intensity training by combing intense short sessions which are repeated several times. This is a great exercise to help improve your lungs ability to take in more air. If you have lung problems consult with a doctor before attempting this type of exercise and get their advice on how best to start off.

Fitness rope training is a full body workout and incorporates your entire trunk. There is no need to have to perform more exercises afterwards. It really is one piece of equipment that targets your whole body from head to toe.

As well rope training is just plain fun, it is the perfect exercise to take up if you are bored with your regular routine. Training with ropes is perfect for beginners to pro athletes and for anyone regardless of age. It is simply a matter of adjusting the length and weight of the rope to suit each person. This makes rope training perfect for a family fun filled exercise routine.

The nice thing about this type of training is that you can adapt it to suit your needs. If you have trouble standing you can easily kneel down or sit on a stability ball. For more advanced moves try squatting or lunging as you control the ropes. Plus don’t forget that you can use your heavy rope for climbing or pulling movements.

Fitness Rope Choices

When buying a fitness rope you want to take a few things into consideration. There is more to buying a rope than meets the eye and first off you need to realize that there are different types of rope.

• One of the best rope choices is one made from premium double braided nylon. With a double braided rope you essentially have two ropes in one, with one being braided over the top of the other. This type of rope is very strong, durable and soft and comfortable on your hands. They are a nice heavy rope that will not shed making them great for indoor or outdoor use. The only downside to this type of rope is its price. They tend to be on the expensive side but don’t forget they will last for many years.
• The Manila rope is probably the one that you are more familiar with. This type of rope resembles the ropes you would have used at school! A Manila rope is a tough rope that is great for taking the kind of abuse rope training can place on it. This type of rope is also more affordable making it the number one reason why many people start off with this one. It is important to note that a Manila rope may tend to shed and is recommended for using outside and it can be a little rough on your hands. Take these points into consideration before making your final buying decision.
• A middle of the road rope would be one that is made from polyester and polypropylene fibers. This type of rope is very strong and durable. It is also much softer than a Manila rope and does not shed so can be used both indoors and outside. Ropes made from polyester tend to be lighter making them a good choice for beginners, seniors and children. Price wise they are right in the middle between the cheaper Manila ropes and the more expensive double braided ropes.

If you purchase a rope specifically made for rope training then it will normally have handles or covered ends on it. If you purchase a length of rope from your hardware store it will have rough edges on the ends. If you know what you are doing, the polyester and nylon ropes can be cut clean on the end and then sealed with a flame. A simple knot at the end will also stop your rope from fraying loose.

When selecting your rope try to pick a rope that is not too heavy for you but one that still has a thickness of 1.5 to 2 inches. The most popular length is 50 feet but 25 foot ropes are still long enough for you to get a great workout with. Some people prefer to purchase a longer length of rope and then tie knots in it. As your ability increases you can easily make the rope longer by untying the knots. As length increases, so does the intensity of strength to move it.

Fitness Rope Training Summary

Rope training goes by many names and you may see this type of training advertised as:

• Undulating training
• Power training
• Battle Rope training
• Rope training exercises
• Fitness ropes

Just remember that they all mean the same thing and would possibly have exercises with different names. Whether you are looking for something to add to your exercise routine or are just in the mood to try something new rope training may be your perfect choice. Your only cost is that of the length and type of rope and you are ready to go.

It is quite easy to find videos online that will instruct you on the basic movements of rope training exercises. Or you can purchase rope training DVD’s where you can follow along.You can train by yourself, with a partner or make it a family activity.

Heck you can even invite your neighbors over and have a friendly tug of war game in your backyard. But, hint, hint, do it after you’ve done your rope training for two to three months first so that you’re ready to kick-butt and impress.

To help you get started right, be sure to read the article titled “Rope Training – for Fitness Nuts and Newbie’s Alike” found at http://myfitnessnut.com/rope-training-for-fitness to give you other important details not found in the article above.

Also to get a jump start on bodybuilding, go to http://MyFitnessNut.com and get a free subscription of the My Fitness Nut Newsletter for up to date tips and bodybuilding resources that the whole family can use to get fit and stay fit for life.

Rope training is serious business. From 6 year old’s on the playground to the military that’s guarding the countries we live in; rope training has its place in the form of fun, exercise and the ability to increase intense strength and endurance in professional athletes.

It can be as high of intensity of a workout as you want it to be and your total piece of equipment is a rope, a place to tie it, or a workout partner capable of holding on to the other end… and your motivation to make it move.

When you do rope training for even a few weeks it will help you to increase your endurance, build muscle and burn fat; and depending on your body type, burn fat at a rapid rate.

Rope Training Exercises

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters regularly use ropes as part of their training routine, along with kettlebells and sandbags amongst other things that we’ll get to in another report. All of these training methods help increase muscle strength and endurance while also helping to increase your speed and timing responses when in the ring.

Another popular form of rope training is the more traditional jumping with a rope. We wanted to include this here as it is a fantastic way to increase your fitness level and even a short time spent jumping can expend lots of calories.

Beginners Jump Rope Training

Remember when you were a child you probably jumped rope with your siblings and friends. This is still a wonderful exercise to do today. If you are short of time and money then jumping rope for exercise is one of the best ways to start getting healthier and losing weight.

As with any exercise when first starting out you want to take it easy and not over do it! There is no point in pulling a tendon or worse in the sake of getting fit. Slow and easy wins the race every time.

If you haven’t picked up a jump rope in years you should try jumping for approximately 30 seconds or around 50 repetitions; less if feel this is a bit much because some is better than none and you can always grow from wherever you are starting.

30 seconds and 50 reps would be classified as one set. Aim to complete three sets each time you workout. As this becomes easier for you increase the time to 60 seconds and then to 90 seconds and allow yourself only 30 seconds to rest before starting the next set. Work up to four or five sets three times a week.

As you become more advanced at jump rope then increase the time you spend jumping to 20 minutes each session. Your goal is to have each set last between two to five minutes completing five sets each workout. To get the best benefit try not to rest too long in between sets. Aim to do these five times a week.

Moving On to the Future…

Today rope training encompasses more than just jumping and makes use of different types of ropes. The ropes used are known as heavy or battle ropes and come in varying thicknesses and lengths.

Heavy ropes were traditionally used by men because of their weight, however today you will see more ropes being used by women as well. This is because this form of training is excellent for overall conditioning, strengthening and of course weight loss.

Basic Rope Training

There are many ways you can utilize ropes into your exercise routine. You can use ropes to make waves, for pulls, slams, climbing, jumping and even for dragging around. If you want to increase your lung capacity this is the perfect method to use. Your lungs will easily be burning after a workout.

When starting a rope training program you will come across hundreds of exercises with different terms. Below we have listed a few exercise moves that are commonly used in this type of training program.

• Shuffle Waves
• Hand Pulls
• Rope Twists
• Seated over the shoulder pulls
• Drag Pull
• Around the World
• Grappler Throw

Getting Started with Rope Training Exercises

All you need is one thick rope to get started and you don’t have to go out and buy a brand name sports training rope either. You can just visit your local hardware store and purchase a manila rope that is about 1.5 to 2.0 inches in diameter and 50 feet long. A manila type rope is very strong and sturdy and can take the excessive pounding that you are about to commence on.

You are also going to need a way to secure the rope so you can use both ends. If you have a large tree in your backyard this would be perfect. You can simply wrap the rope around the tree trunk. You may be able to work out with another person who can hold the rope in the middle, providing they are strong enough to hold onto it.

Whatever methods you choose ensure that the rope is secure and safe. Another idea is if you have a sturdy pole in your basement that you can wrap or secure the rope too.

Mind you we have also seen people use the ropes unsecured. You just lay out the length of rope and then start making waves with it. Just be careful that the end doesn’t flay around and whip someone or something.

Make Waves with Your Training Rope

Making waves with your rope is one of the easiest ways to get started. You simply hold onto the rope and start moving it up and down with your arms until you see the wave motion happening. Be sure to stand with your feet firmly on the ground about shoulder width apart. The more motion you make with your arms the quicker your heart rate will increase.

It is best to start out doing a timed session of about 30 seconds, doing this for a beginner is really going to tax your arms and your breathing. As your ability improves you can increase the duration of each session or increase your speed.

A slam move is similar to a wave other than you hold your arms high above your head before slamming the rope down. You can perform this move with both arms or alternate your arms. Again start with a short session and increase the duration over time.

If you are new to rope training or interested in learning more, see the “Benefits of Rope Training and Fitness Rope Choices” article. That article will help you get more out of your rope workouts and what type of rope you might want to be starting out with. Be sure to subscribe to the http://MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter To be kept up to date with the latest information on health and fitness.

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