1. Oxygen Availability:

   – Low Altitude: Low altitude areas have higher oxygen availability due to denser air. This allows for easier breathing and provides more oxygen for sustained aerobic activity.

   – High Altitude: High altitude areas have lower oxygen availability due to thinner air. This stimulates the body to adapt by producing more red blood cells and increasing oxygen-carrying capacity that can enhance endurance performance at sea level.

2. Cardiovascular Adaptations:

   – Low Altitude: Training at low altitude focuses on improving cardiovascular fitness through sustained aerobic and anaerobic exercise. It enhances the heart’s efficiency, strengthens the cardiovascular system, and improves overall endurance.

   – High Altitude: Training at high altitude triggers physiological adaptations, including an increase in red blood cell production, improved oxygen utilization, and enhanced capillary density. These adaptations can improve cardiovascular performance and endurance.

3. Training Intensity:

   – Low Altitude: The availability of higher oxygen levels at low altitude allows for increased training intensity. Athletes can push harder during workouts, leading to improved speed, power, and anaerobic capacity.

   – High Altitude: Training at high altitude often requires a reduction in training intensity due to lower oxygen levels. This is exspecially true for those that travel from low altitudes to high altitudes. An example would be going from Miami to Vail. Workouts are typically performed at a lower intensity to compensate for the reduced oxygen availability.

4. Performance Gains:

   – Low Altitude: Low altitude training can result in improved anaerobic performance, faster sprinting, and increased muscular strength due to the ability to train at higher intensities.

   – High Altitude: High altitude training can provide performance gains in aerobic endurance activities, such as long-distance running or cycling, due to enhanced oxygen-carrying capacity and improved oxygen utilization.

5. Recovery Benefits:

   – Low Altitude: Low altitude training may offer faster recovery times due to the higher oxygen levels, allowing athletes to bounce back more quickly from intense workouts.

   – High Altitude: Training at high altitude can lead to delayed recovery due to the physiological stress of reduced oxygen availability. Athletes may require longer recovery periods between workouts. If you are the average Joe coming from low altitude, this is particularly true.

6. Altitude Training Adaptations:

   – Low Altitude: Training at low altitude focuses on optimizing performance at sea level and developing general fitness attributes such as strength, speed, and power.

   – High Altitude: High altitude training primarily aims to elicit physiological adaptations that enhance endurance performance, particularly in aerobic and or anaerobic activities. Athletes may use high-altitude training camps to prepare for competitions at lower altitudes. If you have ever watched football teams that travel from low to high altitude to play, this becomes quite evident.

It’s important to note that individual responses to altitude training will vary, and the effectiveness of low or high altitude training depends on several factors, including the athlete’s current fitness level, goals, training history, and the specific sport or activity being targeted. Consulting with a qualified coach or trainer can help determine the most appropriate altitude training strategy for you. Have a happy and healthy day.

• Low-intensity exercise = low amount of effort (walking, biking, etc.)
• Moderate-intensity exercise = medium amount of effort (weights, swimming, …)
• High-intensity exercise = high amount of effort (full body, competitive, and similar exercise)

Advertisement: Amazon (click on photo for more info)

Exercise guidelines are generally given in terms of moderate intensity exercise. For example, doctors recommend 20-30 minutes of exercise 3 times per week – this exercise should be at the moderate intensity level. Examples include:

• 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate intensity exercise per week to promote and maintain health.
• 200-300 minutes (31/3 to 5 hours) of moderate intensity exercise per week is recommended to lose weight and keep it off.
• If you want to have the kind of body you want, assuming you’re not a pro bodybuilder, my recommendation is 5 hours of exercise per week, no less! Why? Because you need to burn about 2,600 calories per week to keep weight off and maintain the type body you want.
What happens when you exercise at different intensities in terms of calorie burn for 5 hours per week – this is an average over many people.

On average, the following calories are burned:
• 165 calories a week exercising at a low intensity.
• 630 calories a week exercising at a moderate intensity.
• 890 calories a week exercising at a high intensity.
These same people burn an average of 175 calories walking stairs per week and 750 calories walking outside (in the park, around the block, etc.). The total number of calories burned each week is more than 2600 calories. This amount meets the recommended amount for weight loss and keeping that loss off.
So, not that you understand a little more, let’s look at exercise intensity again. What is low, moderate, and high intensity in terms of your body feeling the difference?

Low-intensity exercise:
• Feels like it requires little effort.
• Can talk constantly or sing your favorite song while exercising.
• Walking or exercising seems slow paced.

Moderate-intensity exercise
• Feels like it requires a medium amount of effort.
• Can talk some during exercise but you can no longer sing your favorite song.
• Walking or exercising seems brisker in pace.

High-intensity exercise
• Feels like it requires a high amount of effort.
• You need to constantly catch your breath to talk or answer a question.
• Now, running or exercising seems a very fast pace.

As you become fit enough, you will burn the same number of calories exercising at a higher intensity for a shorter period compared to exercising at a lower intensity for a longer period of time. So, if you want to cut your time in the gym, get fit enough to work out at a higher intensity.

I’ve had so many people say to me that they just cannot seem to improve their biceps. One of the problems is that they do the same exercises over and over the other is that just because a biceps exercise works for one person does not mean it will work equally well for another given our individuality.

To build good biceps, you also need to build your shoulders, core, and upper back. You see, the stronger you make these muscles the better your biceps will be. It’s just like the legs; to get bigger calf muscles you need larger and stronger thigh muscles. Every muscle group works together and while they may be separate, they are highly interdependent.

While I could write out an entire program on this for you, try it yourself. Do it for a couple of weeks, adding other exercises if you wish, but not isolation biceps exercises.

Perform the exercises for 4 days per week for 2 weeks. After two weeks, go back to your normal routine.

Advertisement: Amazon (click on photo for more info)

Each day it is assumed that you have warmed up prior to doing the exercises. You will be doing 6 exercises in pairs – 2 exercises each. For example, perform a set of exercise one followed by a set of exercise 2 (many call this a superset). Do both exercises until you finish all reps and sets for the pair. Then, move to exercises 3 and 4 and so on. If you are fit, it will take you about 50 minutes to perform all 6 exercises.

1. Wide-grip deadlift
2. Push Press

3. Dumbbell Overhead Reverse Lunge
4. Dumbbell Raises using Swiss Ball

5. Hip Extension and Leg Curl (Use Swiss Ball or Bench)
6. Alternating DB Bench Press

All exercises will be done at medium volume – 6 sets of 8 reps each. Rest not longer than 1 minute between sets. Hopefully you are accustomed to how much you can max with each lift. If you are, choose a weight load of 50-60 percent of your max for all reps and sets, i.e., the weight remains the same for every repetition in every set. To make it perfectly clear, I do a push press with 185 lbs for 8 reps for the first set; I use the same weight for the remaining 5 sets. You will need to eat your Wheaties because the name of the game here is shock and build!

The first exercise is a wide-grip deadlift, which if you do not know how to do, ask someone in the gym, a trainer would be good. However, some basic instructions are to load a barbell, roll against your shins. Grab the bar with an overhand grip. The grip is about twice as wide as your shoulder width. Your knees are bent about 90 degrees, back slightly arched, and arms straight. Don’t let your back round as this is a major cause of injury with this lift. Pull your torso back and up as your thrust your hips forward, while standing with the barbell. Maintain grasp on bar as you balance it then, after a few seconds, reverse the process lowering the barbell back to the floor and repeat. All exercises are described in our exercise descriptions section (https://www.myhealthandfitness.com/US/fitness/) or, simply use our search feature by inserting the exercise name to find it quickly. Videos will be added soon.

Doing these exercises will help you strengthen your weak spots while growing your biceps and finally getting the big, defined guns you want.

Exercises
For the sake of convenience, each exercise will be briefly described below.

Push Press from Rack
This exercise is a phase version of the clean and press. It is part of the phase training in speed strength to increase technique proficiency for the full clean and press. It is much easier to do since it is done from a squat rack. Or, if you wish, you can clean the weight from the floor to your shoulders without using a weight. If you clean the weight from the floor and simply stand, the movement is termed a push press since no rack is involved. Dumbbells can also be used instead of a straight bar.
1. Place a straight bar on a squat rack and load the appropriate amount of weight. The bar should be low enough so that you need to flex your legs to get under it and lift it off the rack. The grip you will use is about the same width as your power clean, clean pull, etc., i.e., generally thumbs of hands just inside shoulders.
2. Once you have lifted the bar off the rack, step back so the rack is not in your way. Usually 1/2 – 1 step is sufficient. After stepping back, the bar should be resting across the clavicle or collar bone with the elbows pointing out and not down; this will help build technique, although many lifters position the elbows more toward the down position for this part of phase training.
3. Dip your body by flexing your knees then, while pressing upward, drop your body so that you smack the floor with your heels hard, hearing a popping sound as you fully extend your hands above your head. You should have your feet about shoulder width apart.
4. Lower the weight to your shoulder then, perform the next repetition. You will not set the weight on the rack until all repetitions for the set are complete.

Dumbbell Overhead Reverse Lunge
1. Hold a pair of dumbbells above your shoulder – arms straight and feet about shoulder width apart.
2. Step back with right or left leg lowering your body into a lunge position, your front knee should be about 90 degree bent when in full lunge squat. The front leg should be perpendicular to the floor; torso upright.
3. Pause to get your balance then, reverse movement, getting back to standing position as quickly as you can. You can either do all reps on one leg then the other or switch reverse lunge leg back on forth.

Dumbbell Lateral Raises – do as bent-over or on Swiss ball (the lateral will yield better results).
Stand with your feet slightly spread and your knees flexed, i.e., slightly bent. Bend forward at the waist and keep your back straight; your arms hanging down, holding one dumbbell in each hand.
1. Raise the dumbbells to shoulder level, i.e., to your sides, keeping your elbows slightly bent as if you were pouring water from a tea pot into a cup.
2. Return to the starting position and repeat the next repetition.

Notes:
This exercise works the entire shoulder area, placing emphasis on the posterior deltoids. By pinching your shoulder blades (scapulae) together at the end of the movement you will involve the middle and lower parts of the trapezius, teres minor, infraspinatus, and the rhomboids.
You can also perform this exercise lying face down on a flat bench. However, the weight load cannot be as heavy.

Hip Extension/Leg Curl on Swiss Ball
1. Lie on your back on the floor and place your lower legs atop the Swiss ball. Next, place your arms stretched out to your sides away from your body (forming a T with the upper torso and head), palms up.
2. Push your hops up until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
3. Without pause, pull your heels towards your buttocks and roll the ball as close to your buttocks as you can.
4. Pause to get control then, reverse to starting position, i.e., you body is back in a straight line.
5. Lower your hips back to the floor and begin next rep.

Alternate One-Arm DB Bench Press
Sit on a bench, grasp a pair of dumbbells with an underhand grip and lift them to your shoulders. A neat trick to do this, particularly with heavy dumbbells is to rest the flat part of the dumbbell atop your knee and kick the knee upward to assist in raising the dumbbell. Doing this will alleviate stress from the shoulder joint. Lay back flat on the bench.
1. Inhale and alternately press your arms to an extended vertical position above your head. First one arm, lower it and then, the other. Rotate your wrist so that your palm faces forward.
2. Exhale as you complete the movement. Repeat the next repetition.

Notes:
This exercise focuses on the deltoids, particularly the anterior deltoids, and the upper pectorals, upper trapezius, serratus anterior, and triceps.
You can also do this movement standing or seated against a flat back support.

First, are you a scale watcher, better yet, a calorie burned display watcher? I hope not. Almost every piece of gym equipment used for cardio has a time and calories burned display that potentially tells you how many calories you burned during your workout. Unfortunately, these do not always work as planned. They are generally set up for the average height, weight, and or stride. While they will give you a ball park calories burned, they can be far off. Studies from various universities, and more recently the University of California, San Francisco suggest that whether you’re using a stationary bike, climber, or treadmill that the displayed burn rate generally ranges from 7 to 42% more calories burned than were burned. Treadmills were the worst at overestimating calories burned.

Second, you just need to stay in the zone – the fat burning zone – to burn more calories? This is one of the more common misconceptions about cardio workouts. The fact is that whether you’re just a jogger or work on strength training as well, you should involve a certain amount of cardio in the workouts you do. When trainers tell you to stay in the zone to burn fat, this refers to working out at lower intensities generally. Supposedly, the fat burning zone, while at a lower intensity and steady pace, will somehow allow you to burn a greater percentage of calories from stored fat versus stored carbohydrates. Unfortunately, this is one of the biggest misconceptions of all about cardio workouts. You will burn a larger proportions of your calories from fat at this lower intensity, but you will burn fewer calories overall, which includes calories from fat. Do not stay in the zone, but instead, go from the zone to high-intensity training, back and forth to stimulate calorie burn. This is commonly called HIIT or high-intensity interval training. With an equal interval of ‘the zone’ to HIIT for about 20-30 minutes, you’ll burn twice as many calories as just ‘staying in the zone!’ What’s the real calorie burn difference? Instead of burning 6-7 calories per minute, you’ll burn about 14-15 or even more calories per minute. Again, twice a many calories per minute as during a long-endurance training routine.

Advertisement: Amazon (click on photo for more info)

Third, all you cardio buffs constantly work for sometimes an hour or more on that cardio machine. Somehow, you’ve been brainwashed into believing that cardio is more important than strength training and that you’ll burn more calories on an elliptical than you will on the bench doing bench presses. Technically, you’d be correct. However, those calories burned come from the building block of lean muscle mass, which are carbohydrates, fats, and protein. Unfortunately, that long-endurance exercise will burn the muscle, which is not what you want to burn during exercise if your goal is to lose body fat. Why? Because maintaining lean muscle mass is more important than calories burned. More importantly, if your workout with resistance exercises, you will maintain fat burning capacity for up to 2-3 hours after your workout. But, if that workout is cardio, the calorie burn stops immediately after the workout. It’s sort of a double edge sword.

It is important to understand this myth. Unless you are sprinting, there is generally no cell or small muscle tear-down from performing a cardio exercise if you’re not a newbie. However, strength training always results in such to an extent thus, the body will work to repair and grow muscles for quite a while after the workout, even up to 2-3 days, which process constantly burns calories. Such workouts also affect the physiology and therefore, enzyme levels in the body, which take a little while to return to normal. Thus, you would desire to build muscle and not burn it since building and maintaining lean muscle mass is the primary way to increase your metabolic rate, over and above that of cardio. A Harvard School of Public Health study demonstrated that men who performed strength training has less mid-section, i.e., belly fat than men who performed the same amount of time doing cardio. So, watch out becoming what I call ‘skinny fat people.’ These are those who do only cardio and while slim, have much more fat on their body than they should and that fat content is obvious, especially around the waist area.

Finally, there is a great misconception that that spinning class and running can somehow double as a resistance workout – not true! Almost all cardio targets slow-twitch muscle fibers, while resistance training will target primarily fast-twitch muscle fibers. Slow twitch muscle fibers work better for endurance and you might say slow-twitch oversees your muscular endurance while fast-twitch training generates muscle fiber – the greater the weight, the more muscle fiber generated. Consequently, spinning or what we refer to as resistance heavy, lower-body cardio, will not eliminate the need for lower-body strength workouts. Both strength and endurance are necessary for optimal health. However, if you simply cannot get to that strength workout and persist in doing only cardio, opt for sprinting in lieu of spinning. To do this well, try about 10 each of 20-40-20; 20-60-20; and 20-80-20, which is jog-run (full speed sprint)-jog. If it’s your first time, do only about 1/3 to ½ full speed to prevent tearing a hamstring or other leg muscle. So, go ahead and prepare for that 10K run, but perform some strength workouts in your training as well to help prevent muscle injury and imbalance in training.

The reason this happens is due to a complex network of body clocks termed the circadian rhythms. They are responsible for controlling many physiological functions in the body; from sleeping patterns to hormone fluctuations. These are your time keepers. With the main body clock located in the hypothalamus region of the brain, it communicates with the series of peripheral clocks that keep time in other places such as the major organs of the body, i.e., heart, liver, and skeletal muscles.

Many experts believe these ‘time clocks’ have a major influence on your workout. As an example, just before you wake up, your body temperature is the lowest, as well as your heart rate. Consequently, this is an optimal time to work on your endurance exercises of any kind. The reason is that cooler body temperatures generally subdue the body’s physiologic responses. I’ve seen this work quite well with many of my clients and pro athletes. If you want to test it; perform your workout in the morning and keep track of your heart rate then, on a different day, do the exact same workout while also keeping track of your heart rate. You will discover that usually, your heart rate will not spike as high during the morning workout compared to the afternoon workout.

Advertisement: CytoCharge (click on photo for more info)

During this early morning workout, you will also find that you will tend to exercise at a faster pace than later in the day. This may be physiological since the body tends to strive not to overheat as much.

By comparison, high intensity workouts such as that spinning class or strenuous bodybuilding workout are better later in the day because both your muscle strength and body temperature are at their peak. As you likely suspect, a higher body temperature helps muscles work more efficiently for high-intensity exercises. This is because the muscles are more pliable and quicker to respond. It is also why you should warmup well before hitting the heavy loads and high intensity. Also, this is why many individuals that work with stretching, dancing, martial arts, yoga, and similar activities feel better when they do them later in the day – joints are then looser and muscle stiffness has dissipated throughout the day compared to early morning. The question is, can you reset your time clock?

Advertisement: Rolex (click on photo for more info)

Reset your Inner Clock
Circadian rhythms are intrinsic but, you can reset them. Scientists have shown that simply by lifting weights or similar-type exercise can affect the genes responsible for regulating the circadian clocks of muscles. This is independent of what the main timekeeper in the brain is doing. For example, as few as one session of such a workout can increase the expression of specific genes located in muscles that are generally switched off in the morning and thus, reduce the expression of genes that are switched on in the morning. This means that by resetting your muscle’s time clocks, i.e., that lifting weights, will trick your body into believing it’s morning when in fact, it’s afternoon. The same is true in reverse.

Now, you’re asking how can you test this? First, try that weight workout early morning and see how you feel, perhaps do it for a week. Another way to test it is through your journey’s. If you fly overseas or change time zones more than a few hours in a flight, you’ll likely experience jet lag. Try this – after you arrive at your new destination and your body begins to feel fatigued, go directly to the workout room of the hotel or local gym and perform a strength/resistance workout at about 70-80% of your normal routine in terms of intensity. Do this for 2-3 days if you’re remaining at the location. You will overcome the jet lag quickly or at least minimize the symptoms. However, exercise is not the only way to avoid or minimize jet lag. Stay hydrated (no caffeinated drinks or alcohol), get up every hour and stretch or walk around during the flight, take in the sun soon as you arrive, be well rested before you take off, etc.

If you want your body to be your business card or really want to be fit. First, you need to begin to educate yourself. Learn everything you can about fitness and related issues. As you learn, remember that what may work for one, mostly in terms of building muscle mass, man or woman, may not work for you.

Drive for it! Desire it! was one of our websites motto’s for a long time. You must find within yourself the desire to begin the process. Perhaps unbelievably, you can potentially look like those men and women on the cover of health and fitness magazines. Bodybuilding may be a different story, but getting ripped like a cheetah or lean is a doable process.

Second, I want you to envision what you want to look like and begin your path toward that goal. Find a quiet corner in the park, museum, library, or peaceful place and with a pad and pen I want you to prioritize your goals in fitness and health for the next 2 years. What kind of fitness journey do you wish to take? Catalog all the potential types of workouts and exercise types you like then, choose 4-5 of them and plot out an initial 90-day course of action.

Advertisement: Amazon (click on photo for more info)

There are so many types to choose from that you may feel like a kid in a candy store, but that’s the idea – get excited. Ask yourself, “Would you rather be walking and jogging when you’re 60 or stuck behind a walker? We’ve all seen such people; you do not need to end up like that.

Third, variety is the key. Switch your workouts every few weeks to do something different or add something different to your current workout. The 3 sets of 8 reps in the gym of multiple exercises is an okay way to go initially, but you’ll need to step up your intensity with time and, adding variety will help.

Advertisement: Don Tolman International (click on photo for more info)

Learn to stretch through a full range of motion – quads/hip flexors, lower back and shoulder/lats.

Fourth and finally, once you get going and have some strength built up, you need to be able to test yourself. There are five exercises that are good for doing this and they require little equipment.

1. Pullups (shoot for 10 in one set);
2. Split Squat Jumps (try to reach 12 in one set);
3. Bulgarian Split Squats (like a split squat, but rear leg instep is atop a flat bench – squat so front leg is horizontal); have a goal of 18 in one set;
4. Burpees (try to do 15 at one time); and
5. Pushups (attempt 40 in one set)

Perform these exercises about twice per week or every 4 days. The goal is to do as many as you can in one set. Monitor your numbers for about 90 days. At some point, you will not be able to increase any more, but at least you have a goal. And, for the numbers listed above, unless you’re fit already, it will likely take a few weeks to approach some of the one set totals. Remember your nutrition as well and practice your meal frequency. What are you waiting for? Explore it!

How would you like to add 30-50 pounds to your bench press this year, perhaps more? Well, it can be done, especially if you’ve haven’t peaked in your physique yet. If you’re a gym junkie, expect maybe six months to add 30 pounds, but if you’re a rookie, just starting out, well, you could add 30 pounds in 4-6 weeks.

Let’s start adding some upper body muscle!

Improving your bench press will rely on basically 4 points:

1. Proper Technique
To increase weight loads to optimal levels you need to have perfect form. With perfect form the same amount of effort can be used to push even more weight. And, technique is where many people fail to measure up and quite frankly, often get injuries because of it, i.e., poor form or as we professionals call it, technique. Technique is everything. As a martial artist, I make my students take a punch from a hanging bar. By tightening up the core, abs and pretty much everything else in sync, you’d be surprised at how significant a punch you can take. Similarly, as you lay on the bench, tighten up your whole body then, lift/unrack the weight and keep it straight up. Lower the bar to your nipples. This will keep the arms (upper arm) at about a 45 degree angle. If you have shoulder issues, lower the weight only until you upper arms reach parallel to the floor. Either position is the shortest path for the least effort. Once the bar touches the chest, ensuring beforehand that your feet are flat on the floor, press your feet into the floor and explosively press the bar back to starting position.

2. Keep Track of Progress
Many people go to the gym each day and wander around from this piece of equipment to that. They do have a basic plan in their head as to what they want to do and accomplish. However, you’ll find this much easier by having a printed program that you can keep track of all weight, reps, and sets accomplished (like the ones you can print out in the ‘my workout’ section, which are customized for you). It is not enough to guess at what you need or should do. You must plan your progress each day. If you were my client, you’d be on a periodized program, but most trainers do not use these. What then, do you need to do for your bench press? You need to determine your one rep max or 1 RM as it’s generally referred to. A long used method is to get a spotter and keep adding weight until you can only lift the last weight one time; that is your 1 RM. However, by the time you’ve done several of these you have expended energy that had you not expended it, you could have lifted more on the last lift. Thus, there is a more scientific approach; surprise, surprise. First, I want you to guess at what weight you could lift at least 6 times. Ensure you are warmed up adequately before doing so. Slide your plates on the bar and lift the weight. How many reps did you do? If you did somewhere between 4 to 10 that is what you need. If you lifted more than 10 reps, the weight is too light. Now, apply this formula: Weight/[1.03 – (0.03 x #reps you did)]. Let’s do an example: John lifted 225 pounds for 7 reps and could do no more. Thus, 225/[1.03 – (0.03 * 7)] = 274 pounds. Therefore, John’s 1 RM is 274 pound, but due to bar and plate weights, lets set it to 275 pounds, i.e, the bar and 2 x 45 lb plates on each end.

Advertisement: Levenger (click on photo for more info)

After you have determined you 1 RM, I want you to do the three following workouts in order. Let’s say your start day is Monday, the next chest workout day will be Thursday; in other words you’ll have a 2-day break between chest workouts. This may seem to go against the norm for you, but it’s scientifically proven to work. Do each workout over a few weeks if that is what it takes to achieve all the sets and reps of the workout. Once you can achieve those goals, push the weight up by at least 5, but not more, than 10%. Then, start again. Do not keep doing this for longer than say 45 days; by then your body will become accustomed to it and you’ll plateau.

Bench Workout #1
80% 1 RM for 5 sets of 3 repetitions each.
Rest for about 3 minutes between sets. While I normally prescribe short rests, it is necessary to rest longer due to weight load and, this workout with recruit as many of your muscles motor neurons as possible, which will activate them so you’ll gain more strength. Also, this rest period will help you sustain higher levels of testosterone, than by doing a shorter 1-minute rest.

Bench Workout #2
65% 1 RM for 6 sets of 8 repetitions each.

Bench Workout #3
50% 1 RM for 10 sets of 10 repetitions each.
There are two ways to build muscle, by massive weight loads and by release of endorphins during the exercise. Thus, this level (50%) will help release endorphins due to many repetitions at a higher than normal level of exercise, i.e., this is referred to as high volume, low to mid intensity training. Trust me, it’ll tire you out so, eat your Wheaties as it were.

3. Increase Push Power
All of this new intensity will require more calories than you normally consume thus, keep track of them. You’ll likely need 200-300 extra calories per day on these days so, feel free to have an extra protein shake, peanut butter, etc. If you lose muscle you will lose strength thus, you need the extra calories. Also, consider adding extra squats to your routines to increase leg power since, believe it or not, your bench press is interdependent with your squatting power. But, that’s another story.

Advertisement: CytoCharge (click on photo for more info)

4. Get Proper Sleep/Rest
Have you ever gone to the gym and your iPod or smart phone died right in the middle of your favorite tune? Why did they stop? They stopped because they ran out of energy. Your body will do the same without the proper amount of rest, i.e., sleep, and recovery. If you truly want to see gains in the gym, whether it be bench press or another exercise, you need to get prescribed amounts of sleep for your age, activity, etc. Please read, “Getting Enough Sleep” and “Sleep Aid – Natural or Manufactured.”

Later, we’ll discuss periodized programs and other training methods to help you improve and achieve your goals.

Regular physical activity substantially reduces the risk of dying of coronary heart disease (CHD), the nation’s leading cause of death, and decreases the risk for stroke, colon cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure. It also helps to control weight; contributes to healthy bones, muscles, and joints; reduces falls among older adults; helps to relieve the pain of arthritis; reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression; and is associated with fewer hospitalizations, physician visits, and medications. Moreover, physical activity need not be strenuous to be beneficial; people of all ages benefit from participating in regular, moderate-intensity physical activity, such as 30 minutes of brisk walking five or more times a week.

Despite the proven benefits of physical activity, more than 60% of American adults do not get enough physical activity to provide health benefits. More than 25% are not active at all in their leisure time. Activity decreases with age and is less common among women than men and among those with lower income and less education. Furthermore, there are racial differences in physical activity rates particularly among women.

Advertisement: Amazon (click on photo for more info)

Insufficient physical activity is not limited to adults. More than a third of young people in grades 9-12 do not regularly engage in vigorous-intensity physical activity. Daily participation in high school physical education classes have dropped from 42% to about 30%.

Why Should You Be Active?
Physical activity can bring many health benefits. People who enjoy participating in moderate-intensity or vigorous-intensity physical activity on a regular basis benefit by lowering their risk of developing coronary heart disease, stroke, non-insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, and colon cancer by 30 to 50%. Additionally, active people have lower premature death rates than people who are the least active.

Regular physical activity can improve health and reduce the risk of premature death in the following ways:

1. Reduces the risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) and the risk of dying from CHD;
2. Reduces the risk of stroke;
3. Reduces the risk of having a second heart attack in people who have already had one heart attack;
4. Lowers both total blood cholesterol and triglycerides and increases high-density lipoproteins (HDL or the “good” cholesterol);
5. Lowers the risk of developing high blood pressure;
6. Helps reduce blood pressure in people who already have hypertension;
7. Lowers the risk of developing non-insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes mellitus;
8. Reduces the risk of developing colon cancer;
9. Helps people achieve and maintain a healthy body weight;
10. Reduces feelings of depression and anxiety;
11. Promotes psychological well-being and reduces feelings of stress;
12. Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints; and
13. Helps older adults become stronger and better able to move about without falling or becoming excessively fatigued.

Who Benefits From Physical Activity? – Everyone!
The good news about regular physical activity is that everyone can benefit from it!.

Older Adults
No one is too old to enjoy the benefits of regular physical activity. Evidence indicates that muscle-strengthening exercises can reduce the risk of falling and fracturing bones and can improve the ability to live independently.

Parents and Children
Parents can help their children maintain a physically active lifestyle by providing encouragement and opportunities for physical activity. Families can plan outings and events that allow and encourage everyone in the family to be active.

Teenagers
Regular physical activity improves strength, builds lean muscle, and decreases body fat. Activity can build stronger bones to last a lifetime.

People Practicing Weight Management
Regular physical activity burns calories while preserving lean muscle mass. Regular physical activity is a key component of any weight-loss or weight-management effort.

People With High Blood Pressure
Regular physical activity helps lower blood pressure.

People With Physical Disabilities and Arthritis
Regular physical activity can help people with chronic, disabling conditions, improve their stamina and muscle strength. It also can improve psychological well-being and quality of life by increasing the ability to perform the activities of daily life.

Advertisement: WebMD (click on photo for more info)

Those Under Stress and Experiencing Anxiety and/or Depression
Regular physical activity improves one’s mood, helps relieve depression, and increases feelings of well-being. If you have any of these symptoms we recommend you begin a physical activity/exercise regimen as soon as you can. Check with your doctor before beginning an exercise or physical activity program.

Exercise is for all of us and along with good nutrition,is the true key to youth and vitality! See you in the gym, in the park, or around the track.

With these issues in mind, I thought to myself, “What are the best earbuds on the market?”
For a long time, I ran with a pair of Bluetooth capable Motorola S10-HD Bluetooth Stereo Headphones that are available on Amazon and other stores for about $40. They worked well for other than bouncing activities and were very reasonably priced and, but I hated the bouncing of the center piece on the back of the neck; they also occasionally produced choppy noise interrupting that favorite part of a song. But, given the price, I kept them until they quit working; about 3 years. Having had my own band for 8 years in college during my BS and first master’s degree, good quality sound has always been important. Thus, my quest to find good earbuds at a nominal price began.

Advertisement: Motorola on Amazon (click on photo for more info)

To rid the choppy noise problem, I bought a wired set of headphones that worked really well. These were the Sennheiser OCX 686G Sports. Sound quality was clear, they wrapped around the ear and were overall great. Sometimes the wire would get in the way during workouts for special ops fitness and related activities, but I loved them. I still use them on occasion.

Advertisement: Sennheiser (click on photo for more info)

I started asking friends and fitness buddies what they thought were the most important features for earbuds. From lifting weights in the gym, running, CrossFit, track and field, biking, hiking, and all kinds of other activities, the responses came in. There were too many features in the responses to list, but I narrowed them down to the top 6 from each responder. The earbuds were compared looking at the following features, i.e., must haves for the perfect earbuds.

The main features, in order from my survey responses included:
1. The ability to stay in place (fit your ears) during any exercises; it became evident a wrap-around ear design would likely be best and fit of the earbuds was top of the list for everyone’s priorities;
2. Bluetooth capability, wireless preferred; but, some of us need to grab and go without waiting for Bluetooth earbuds to charge, thus, wired is the other choice – you can have both;
3. Good sound that remains steady without choppiness and static;
4. Water proof/resistant for when you get caught out in the weather and still need them to perform. Interestingly, most earbuds warranty becomes void if you get them wet;
5. Ability to access your music with up/down volume and jump to next song controls – but, the controls need to be simple and easy to operate while exercising; and
6. Talk capability for your phone was necessary, after all, it’s a busy world and we constantly may need to squeeze something in without sitting around waiting for a call.

While there were other issues of importance, the above were the top 6.
After looking at about 50 different brands of earbuds from wired to wireless it came down to two choices. First choice was the Epic2 from JLabAudio and the second choice was the JBirdX2. The JBirdX2 worked great but placing them comfortably in the ear and keeping them there without worry knocked them out of the top spot.

Thus, my recommendation to you is that if I wanted a pair of wireless headphones for working out, I’d get the JLab Epic2 Bluetooth. This pair of earbuds is on the lower end of the price range for Bluetooth water-resistant types and was an important need for those who are die-hard runner and cyclists that go out no matter the weather. The Epic2 supports Bluetooth so, there is no cord to get in the way although, there is a very short cord (adjustable with clips) that goes around the back of your neck.

Advertisement: JLabAudio (click on photo for more info)

I tested this model and loaned it to friends to test as well – in the gym, sprinting, biking, running, and just about everything but swimming. We all found the Epic2 to be well made, good quality sound, sturdy construction, static free, able to answer calls from your smart phone, easy to select music and volume. In fact, there are only three buttons to use to manipulate volume, song selection, and on/off and answering calls. I even gave them to a gymnast friend that I train who put the earbuds through all kinds of gymnast routines from pommel horse to floor exercise and they didn’t come off once or malfunction in any way.

The Epic2 headphones also sound great and mine kept a charge (listening to music with some phone conversation for about 12-hours before requiring a charge again. After charging about 30 times, this seemed to be about the average battery life no matter who of my friends used them. So, for the typical runner or work-out-aholic, this will give you about 2.5 hours per day for the week, excepting weekends without a charge. That’s good. battery life, meaning you can get nearly two weeks’ worth of workouts from a single charge.

Having had my own band, sound was very important to me. For earbuds, the driver within the earbud is what makes the quality sound you hear. For most earbuds, the driver is 4-5 mm, but for the Epic2, it is 8mm, pretty much the largest on the market for the size, until you get into over-ear headphones, which aren’t practical for fitness. JLab Audio who makes the Epic2, call the technology they use C3 (Crystal Clear Clarity). Our experience is that their technology delivers a clean, crisp, sound. For those with good hearing you’ll definitely be able to distinguish highs, mids and a pumping bass through the high-performance 8mm drivers. And, as I said, these drivers are about 50 percent larger than the competition. The size of these drivers is what both gives much better sound, but also why the earbuds are more than the lower end $50 for a good pair. The Epic2 also has an upgraded Bluetooth antenna that pretty much eliminates static, providing skip-free tunes, even for the most demanding fitness buff or professional.

If you are the type that gets annoyed by cables and don’t mind needing to remember to charge your earbuds and are willing to pay a little extra for the convenience, the Epic2 earbuds are a great piece of technology to add to your fitness gear. If you don’t like to charge, go with the wired Sennheiser’s described above; you’ll find they are a good choice as well.

Today, women are very busy, from work and raising a family to shopping and everything else. There seems scarce time to squeeze it all in. Working out at the gym just doesn’t seem to cut it with your busy schedule so, whether you work from home or are a working mom, there is a way to get fit.

You don’t need a gym full of equipment to get a solid workout. Simply grab kettlebell and get a full-body workout!

Advertisement: Amazon (click photo for more info)

It seems everywhere you look that trainers and others are constantly taking one exercise, piece of equipment, etc. and making a fad out of it. Well, move over dumbbells because now there’s kettlebells.

In a real sense, there is nothing special about a kettlebell compared to a dumbbell, however, it is easier to grab and overall, this makes things easier in terms of working out with limited equipment. A kettlebell takes up almost no space and can be used by anyone to get a pretty good workout, even advanced bodybuilders.

So, instead of wandering from machine to bench in the gym, grab the bell and let’s get going at home.

You can do almost any exercise with a kettlebell that you can with a dumbbell or many weights for that matter. A great exercise to do with it for the legs is the Goblet squat, as well as other kinds of squats, lunges, raises, etc.

Advertisement: Louis Vuitton (click photo for more info)

It’s like Magic
The shape and handle location on the kettlebell make it ideal for certain explosive exercises like swings, snatches, and cleans, all of which originated in speed-strength training brought from Russia to the U.S. by Fred Hatfield and Dr. E.J. Kreis.

You can do just a couple of these exercises for an entire 20-minute workout. And, done in interval fashion, the workout is fantastic. As a matter of fact, the American Council on Exercise found that performing kettlebells in 15-second intervals (on then, off) burned about the same amount of calories as running a 6-minute mile!

By choosing the proper weight kettlebell to begin, you will have the advantage of being able to mix explosive movements with resistance/strength movements to ‘key’ all your energy systems, work your core, and build good foundational strength.

How much weight to choose is not difficult. Go to a sporting-goods store and test the weight for yourself. You need to choose a weight that you can move fluidly and can press about 4-5 times (singe-arm) above your head. If you can press the weight for 7-12 times or more, it is too light. As a rule of thumb, and it’s only a rule of thumb, an average weight load for women is about 5-10 pounds while that for men is 25-30 pounds. The amount is very individualistic and you may find that you can use more or even less weight than those listed. The load also assumes you can press the weight without shoulder or back restrictions due to past or current injuries. If you cannot do this, the kettlebell workouts in terms of presses should not be done.

So, what are you waiting for, give the kettlebell a try.

Following is a very simple workout:

Day 1:
Turkish Get Up – 3 sets, 4 reps per set

Day 2:
One-arm Kettlebell swing – 4 sets, 15 reps per set

Day 3:
Goblet Squat – 5 sets, 6 reps per set

Day 4:
Kettlebell Sumo Squat – 4 sets, 8 reps per set

Day 5:
One-arm Kettlebell row – 6 sets, 12 reps per set

This is just an example, you’ll want to add pushups, situps, crunches, and other exercises as well. Don’t worry about timing everything, just jump into it and keep your heart pumped. If you find yourself getting out of breath slow down and take a brief one-minute rest. Just keep it moving and have fun. Best of all, lots of these movements are full body so there’s great calorie burn.