Category Fitness

Sometimes you don’t feel like going to the gym. What would it look like if you did your strength training at home? Using your own weight lifting equipment at home in general has several benefits, such as:

• exercising when it fits into your daily schedule,
• exercising longer because you don’t have to drive to and from a gym,
• not having to arrange for someone to watch your kids while at the gym,
• saving gas by not having to drive your car to the gym,
• using the money you would normally pay for a gym membership to buy your own equipment,
• if you are in a cold part of the world, not having to go outside to get to a gym.

Do these sounds like benefits you want? If so, let’s talk about the different equipment options to consider.

You already know your fitness program should include strength training – around two days per week. But what equipment do you need? Before you go out and blow your budget on a huge strength training machine, think about these three things…

1) Type of equipment

Home strength training equipment can vary from a few resistance bands all the way to a multi-exercise, all-in-one machine. If you are just starting out, a few different levels of resistance bands may be all you need. As you outgrow the bands, you can add to (or replace) with equipment that allows you to develop more.

Many medium level and higher home strength trainers use a weight bench and free weights along with dumbbells and a barbell. You can start out with a few weights and add to it over time.

Of course at the high end of the equipment scale, you have all-in-one machines that are actually several machines arranged and connected in a circular fashion.

2) Available space

Think about how much space you have to commit to strength training equipment verses how much space the equipment takes up. If you live in an apartment, you probably do not have the space for an all-in-one machine.

For planning purposes, you should allow 20 to 30 square feet if you plan to buy resistance bands, kettlebells or a weight bench and small selection of weights. Anything larger and you will need anywhere from 35 to 50 square feet.

3) How much you can afford to spend

Fortunately, you can spend as little you want or as much as you afford. For under $100, you can get resistance bands, kettlebells, or some free weights and a non-adjustable weight bench.

Once you get into the adjustable weight benches and higher, plan to spend a minimum of $500 (up to $1,500 or more). Once you have answers to the three considerations, buy quality equipment that you can afford.

For example, instead of buying the best all-in-one machine, buy a mid-range one and resistance bands or kettlebells. Not only will you have the same amount of money invested, it will give you more flexibility in the exercises that you can do with the equipment you have.

How ironic is it that training with weights, resulting in an increase in muscle mass, is a key to weight loss! Why is that?

As it turns out, strength training helps with weight loss in the following six ways.

1) Preventing You from Gaining Back Lost Weight

Many people work hard to lose weight, but unfortunately most of them do not keep it off. You have to burn as many calories per day as you eat to maintain your weight at its present level. One way to burn more calories is to include strength training as part of your physical activity. Not only does the training itself burn calories, but as you build muscle mass your body will burn more calories to keep the larger muscle mass functioning than it did when you had a smaller mass. As far as weight loss is concerned, strength training has a two-fold effect.

2) Reducing Your Risk for Type 2 Diabetes

Adult Onset Diabetes (Type 2) is a loss of the body’s ability to control blood sugar. A new study recently showed the people in the study having the most muscle mass significantly lowered their risk of getting the Type 2 disease. How does this relate to weight loss? People with Type 2 diabetes often gain a significant amount of weight. Reduce the risk by maintaining or gaining muscle mass and you can avoid (or at least reduce) the related weight gain.

3) Maintaining Muscle Density

As part of the normal aging process, we lose muscle mass, known as sarcopenia. Around age 40, an inactive adult loses about a 3% to 5% every 10 years. Around age 70, the loss accelerates. One of the best known treatments to prevent sarcopeni is strength training. If you can maintain muscle mass, your body will burn more calories to maintain the functioning of those muscles than if you have reduced mass. Burning more calories avoids or at least lessens weight gain.

4) Preventing Injuries

Many injuries (especially in older people) are caused by a loss of muscle mass. Prevent the loss and you can reduce your risk for falls and broken bones. Good muscle tone means better balance which can prevent falls. If you can stay active, and not get sidelined by an injury for a long time, you have a better chance of not gaining weight.

5) Improving Function

Strength training increases your ability to function better. Working muscles with weights increases range of motion, keeps muscle tone and helps maintain flexibility. Lose these things and you gradually become less active. Become less active and you will have a harder time maintaining your weight and a significantly harder time trying to lose weight.

And these are only part of the benefits derived from strength training. As you can see, strength training is not an option in your weight loss program – it is critical. If you are not strength training at least two days per week, start now. It is one way to increase your metabolism, a critical part of weight loss.

6) How Often to do Strength Training for Losing Weight

If you are wondering how often you should strength train to lose weight, you need to understand exactly what strength training does first. A basic definition of strength training is any type of physical exertion or exercise that stresses your muscles and causes them to work against either resistance or weight, tearing them down so your body rebuilds them bigger and stronger.

This could include lifting weights, performing body weight exercises, or any other number of activities. If weight loss is your goal, the American College of Sports Medicine believes a minimum of two sessions of resistance training as well as three 20 minute cardio sessions are needed every week to achieve minimum acceptable fitness levels and to begin weight loss.

Strength training to lose weight simply means starting out with those resistance and cardio sessions on a weekly basis, while slowly and progressively adding weightlifting sessions. Muscles need at least 48 hours to repair after they are stressed, so plan your strength training exercises accordingly. Always make sure you warm up before beginning and cool down after your strength training workouts to prevent injuries.

An injury can keep you on the sideline and slow down your weight loss, which is accelerated when you increase your level of lean muscle tissue. This causes your body to burn calories at a higher rate, which accelerates weight loss. Practicing resistance training and cardio will help you lose weight, especially if you have a significant excess, but strength training is far and away the best way to lose weight through exercise.

Strength training three times a week, even if you are a beginner using very light weights, can allow you to schedule even the most intense workouts with 48 hours of rest before your next session. Strength trainers the world over have employed a Monday – Wednesday – Friday workout schedule because this regimen dovetails nicely with the typical Monday through Friday work week.

Whatever schedule you decide upon, make sure you keep properly hydrated during and after your strength training. You should also give your body the necessary fuel to build your muscles, in the form of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

Intensive strength training three days a week with ample rest between sessions allows your body to heal and prepare for the next workout, and to burn fat. The proper diet ensures that your muscles will continue to grow bigger and stronger as you improve the amount of lean muscle mass on your body, which in turn leads to significant fat weight loss.

If not done properly, lifting weights can be a recipe for personal disaster. Not only will using the correct posture help you get more out of your training time in the gym, but it will also prevent injuries – some of which can be debilitating for a long time.

Here are five tips to using the correct posture when lifting weights:

1) Look straight ahead

In weight lifting, one of the most important things you can do is to keep your whole spine in a straight line from your neck down to your tailbone. By looking straight ahead, your neck stays in line with your spine, thus reducing the risk of suffering a neck injury.

2) Keep your shoulders back and chest in while lifting weights

When lifting weights, the back has a tendency to either round forward or to arch back, both of which can lead to injuries. With a rounded back, you are slightly bent forward; with an arched back, your back is overextended backward. In both situations, weight is not directly over your spine thereby increasing your chances for a painful herniated disk.

3) Slightly bend your knees

When lifting over your head, a slight bend at the knees also helps keep your spine straight and the weight centered over it. Locked knees lead to a rounding of your back and we already know what that can lead to.

4) Keep your back straight

Most of what we have already talked about has led us to this overarching principle – keep the weight centered over the spine by keeping your back straight or slightly overarched, very slightly. You don’t want the weight you are lifting to be too far forward or too far back. Strive to keep it centered over your spine and keeping your back straight will help accomplish this.

5) Keep your weight evenly balanced on your feet

Proper lifting form includes having your feet shoulder-width apart and your body (and the weight you are lifting) spread out evenly over the soles of your feet. To prevent hurting the arches in your feet, be sure to wear shoes with good arch support. Spreading the weight evenly over your whole foot provides you with a stable base and reduces the risk that a lift will throw you off balance possibly injuring your or someone close to you working out.

Maintaining good posture is so important to having good lifting form not to mention reducing your risk for an injury that can put you down for a long time. By using the correct posture to lift, you can safely get more out of your lifting sessions.

How to Properly Lift Weights

If not done properly, lifting weights can result in an injury that can sideline you for a long time. Worse yet, once healed, you’ll have to start over again getting the rehabbed muscle back in shape. To avoid an injury and get the most out of your workout, you should:

1) Schedule Eating Before Exercising

Time your eating patterns so that you won’t have eaten a large meal within 50 minutes prior to your workout. Ideally, you should eat 1 to 2 hours prior to and if you feel you need something to eat just prior to starting your workout, choose a piece of fresh fruit or a protein supplement. By eating a large meal right before working out, you risk getting cramps which can really put a damper on your training session.

2) Warm Up

This is something that many new to working out skip because they think it doesn’t matter; they couldn’t be more wrong. By starting your workout with cold muscles, you run the risk of at least having sorer muscles all the way up to a suffering a serious injury.

Warming up increases the oxygen in your bloodstream and ultimately to your muscles. At a minimum, a good warm-up routine would be to perform 5 push-ups and sit-ups, rest for 30 seconds and then do 10 of both exercises. Keep doing this exercise/rest routine all the way up to 20 exercises of each and then start working your way back down to 5 exercises in increments of 5.

The Best Way to Warm Up Before Lifting Weights

Seasoned weightlifters know the value of properly warming up (and cooling down). Not only does warming up before lifting allow more blood to flow to your joints, but it increases the elasticity of your muscles and increases both your body temperature and nervous system activity; it actually allows you to maximize your workout better than if you had not warmed up.

A proper warm up consists of a cardio routine to get your heart rate increased, and a routine to warm-up and stretch the muscles you will work out during your weight-lifting session.

Cardio Warm-up

A good cardio warm up starts with a fast walk or slow jog for around two minutes where the goal is to increase your target heart rate to 60% of your maximum heart rate; you can figure out your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220.

Next, move into a normal speed jog for around another two minutes to raise your target heart rate to 75%. Finally wrap up the cardio warm up by running for another two minutes or until your target heart rate is at 80%. Now start to gradually slow the speed down until you are at a stop.

You can also warm-up on a stationary bike or elliptical trainer each with variable resistance using the same target heart rates and approximate times.

Muscle Warm-up

If your routine that day is upper body, warm up your muscles by doing some dynamic flexibility exercises. Dynamic flexibility exercises moves your muscles within the full range of motion, thus “loosening up” everything better than static stretching, along with reducing the risk of injury. Recent studies have found that static stretching does not prevent injuries and does not properly prepare the muscles for an upcoming workout.

Push-ups are a good exercise for many upper body muscles. If your routine targets the lower body, then choose knee raises, squats or lunges, or a combination of the three.

Finish out your muscle warm up by doing a few light-weight lifts (about half the weight you normally lift) using the muscles that will be targeted by that day’s routine.

Now you are ready for a short one-minute rest, a drink of water and start your regular weight-lifting routine. Allow at least one hour to do the two warm-ups, your routine and a cool-down.

If you have not been warming up, you will find that you will actually have a better workout and be less sore the following day than when you had not been warming up first.

3) Choose the Appropriate Amount of Weight

Selecting the right amount of weight can be tricky at first. Your goal is for the last repetition in your set (the 12th one) to be very hard if not impossible to perform. This is known as muscle failure which is what you want if you are to progress toward your goal. The rule of thumb is to start lighter than you think you can lift and work up to the right amount of weight.

4) Use Proper Lifting Techniques

When lifting weights slow and steady beats fast and jerky every time. The goal is not to see how fast you can run through a routine.

When lifting, don’t arch your back, nor lean forward. Try to keep your head, neck and back all in alignment. Lift slowly while keeping focused on using proper form for the exercise you are performing at the time. When first starting out, it is a good idea to have a personal trainer watch you and correct your form if necessary.

You should allow at least an hour from start to finish, so that you can get in a good solid 30 minutes of lifting.

5) Cool Down After Lifting Weights Too

As you work through your lifting routine, your heart rate increases. The purpose of a cool-down is lower your heart rate back down to around what it was before you started your warm-up. You can cool down by doing a series of stretching exercises or by going through your warm-up routine again.

By following the advice in this article, you can safely enjoy the sport of weight lifting. Not only will you see an improvement in your physical stature, but your mental one as well. For more information on bodybuilding and fitness, get yourself a subscription to the MyFitnessNut.com newsletter and watch the Muscle Building Series video and start your weight lifting routine today.

How Heavy Should Your Dumbbell Weights Be?

The ideal weight of your dumbbells depends … it depends on your weight lifting goal in the first place. If your goal is to increase upper body flexibility and endurance, then you want to use lighter weights, but do more repetitions.

However if your goal is to build strength and muscle mass, then you want to lift heavier weights but with less repetitions. But the part of the question of each goal that remains unanswered is how much or how little should you be lifting? Let’s look at both.

Increase Flexibility and Endurance

The other parts of the equation that determines how much weight you should be lifting is the muscle group you are working and your experience level. If you are just starting out working your upper body, know that you will lift more weight when exercising your biceps than you will with the triceps, deltoids and trapezius.

Regardless of your experience level, use a planning factor of twelve to twenty repetitions (reps) per set – this range of reps should bring you to muscle failure – the point where you are unable to do one more rep; plan for one to three sets. If twenty reps don’t bring you to failure, use more weight.

When first starting out, try using a five-pound dumbbell in each hand. Once you can easily do twenty reps, bump up the weight until you reach failure at twelve. Once you have been exercising for a while, you should be able to fatigue biceps with one set using eight pounds in each hand. If not, reduce the weight and add in another set or two of reps.

For the other upper body muscles, try using between two and five pounds in each hand. Still use twelve to twenty reps per set as a guide.

Build Strength and Muscle Mass

If building strength is your goal, then the amount of weight you lift and the number of reps is much different. For upper body muscles, you want to use a weight heavy enough to allow you to perform two to six sets of six reps per set until muscle failure. Again you will be able to lift more weight when exercising biceps than other upper body muscles.

For increased muscle mass, plan on using a weight that will allow you to do three to six sets with six to twelve repetitions per set. As you max out on reps and sets, increase the weight and lower the number of reps.

Lifting more weight than your body can handle can lead to muscle tears and other injuries. Always start with less weight than you think you can lift and work up one pound at a time as your muscles get used to a certain amount of weight at maximum reps.

Regardless of your reason to workout with dumbbells, lifting weights can be both fun and challenging. Be sure to use common sense and lift responsibly.

How Many Weight Lifting Reps Should You Do?

Once the question of “How much weight should I lift?” is answered, the question of “How many weight lifting repetitions should I do?” soon follows … and with good reason – the two questions are relative to each other. You have to know the answers to both questions before starting a weight lifting routine.

The answer in general is “It depends on your goal.”

A weight lifting repetition (rep) is defined as moving a weight from point A to point B and back again. For example, when working a bicep, it would be the action of moving the dumbbell (and of course your forearm and hand) from horizontal, to vertical, and back down to horizontal; that is one rep. A specific number of continuous reps with a short rest period at the end is a set.

Because the number of reps you should perform is goal-oriented, let’s talk about the goal at each end of the spectrum. If your goal is to make every day lifting easier, such as carrying groceries or the laundry basket, then you are more endurance oriented. With this goal you would be doing more reps with lighter weights.

However if your goal is to get stronger and to have larger muscles, then you are strength oriented and you would lift more weight but with fewer reps per set. In between, there are several sub-goals which end up being a combination of the two major goals.

But we still have not yet answered the question of how many reps, have we. That’s coming! If you are at the endurance end of the spectrum, then you want to do 15 to 20 reps per set; the lower number of reps if you are just starting out – the higher number if you have been working out a while. If you are strength-oriented, then your range is 1 to 5 reps per set.

Now, let’s move on to the number of sets. For the endurance-oriented people, usually 1 to 3 sets is enough to reach muscle failure – the point in which the muscle you are working cannot do another lift; for the strength oriented individuals, that number increases to a range of 2 to 6 sets.

To prevent injury start with a lighter weight than you think you can lift. You know you have about the right amount of weight if you reach muscle failure with your minimum number of reps. Now you can add reps/sets until you max out. Once that happens, then increase the weight and drop back on reps/sets.

In the end, the number of reps you should do depends on your goal, current fitness level and lifting experience. Enjoy!

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.

In our daily hustle and bustle of life getting in the way, climbing on board with a 30 to 40 minute a day exercise plan can be tough to do. But, it’s tough to make the excuse that you don’t have the time when you can do quick workout in as little as 10 minutes and still get the benefits of a good workout. This is done by increasing the intensity of your workout as you decrease the amount of time dedication.

With a high intensity workout, there’s absolutely no excuse for not finding 10 minutes a day to devote to your better health.

Have You Ever Tried Circuit Training?

While some people will workout specific muscle groups on specific days to the week, others what to cram in a complete full body workout routine in the little amount of time they have available for their workouts. A full body workout may entail doing upper body, lower body and ab or core strength training all in one swoop. They might start with the upper body first with a high intensity workout, working the muscles to complete exhaustion, take a very short rest and then move on to a high intensity ab workout; again working that muscle group to complete exhaustion and then move on to the lower body muscles with intensity.

Target Specific Muscle Groups One at a Time

Other people will choose to target certain muscle groups one at a time. Here you don’t want to be working your muscles to total exhaustion and failure but instead, by using two minute timed exercises with a short rest in between, you’ll workout only one specific muscle group in that session. You might go for working out your abs today, your lower body tomorrow, your upper body the next and then repeat the cycle.

Sample 10-Minute Workout Routine without Equipment

Here’s a quick sampling of what a 10-minute workout without using any type of equipment might look like. In a short five minute block of time you could, depending on your physical condition of course, do 50 jumping jacks, 50 knee raises, 50 pushups and 50 set-ups. Stop for one minute and have a few sips of clean, clear water and then do that same 50-50-50-50 five minute routine once again. If time or your physical abilities are an issue, you can even split this 10 minute workout in half and do it at least twice through the course of your day.

Increasing Your 10-Minute Workout Intensity

Now, even though you can get started doing 10-Minute Workouts without the use of any equipment, when your workout routine starts getting easier to do, you’ll need to increase your intensity if you want to continue to get favorable results. To do this, you might want to add some weight or resistance to your workout with something like a kettlebell, dumbbell set, a sandbag or resistance bands – all of which are relatively inexpensive. When you add these to your routine, they will make your muscles work harder and harder while burning more calories faster than you could without them.

Besides the minimal time consumption of doing high intensity 10 minute workouts, you’ll benefit by your metabolism staying revved up for a longer period of time as opposed to doing longer and lower intensity workouts. So, you’ll not only save time but you’ll be burning more calories at a faster; a great side benefit indeed.