You have set your goals, you have an idea of the results you are trying to achieve, and now you want to implement a successful training regime to get the physique of a proper bodybuilder. Exercises are divided up into core exercises, which will always be included in your training plan, and various other optional exercises which you can pepper your routine with.

Altering the exercises you do will help shock the body, and increase muscle mass in your different muscle groups. There is a distinct difference between working towards mass, and generally exercising your body. To increase your mass, you need to use heavy weights, and only do three sets containing eight repetitions each. If your aim is to lose body fat, you will use lighter weights, and do more sets and repetitions. One of the fallacies amongst new gym users aiming to gain mass is that more is better. Well, they are half right! More weight is better, but more sets and reps will actually be detrimental to your efforts.

Bench presses, squats, and deadlifts will be a core part of your workout. The other exercises mentioned can be used to add variability to your plan.

Bench Press

Though this is going to be a fundamental part of your plan, do not devote so much time this exercise that you wind up with a disproportionately large chest and skinny legs!

Body Position – Lie in a firm, balanced way on the bench with the bar directly resting above your nose. Place your feet on the ground comfortably, and ensure your back is in contact with the bench all the way to your buttocks.

Movement – Take hold of the bar, and in a controlled way, bring it down to your mid-chest. Be very sure not to drop the weight on yourself, as this could cause a painful injury. Inhale deeply throughout.

Completion – Using fully extended arms, lock your elbows, and press the bar upwards towards the starting position. The whole exercise should be done at a constant speed to keep your muscles under continuous strain.

Squats

This is an effective way to exercise several muscles at one time. It will build your lower body, and eliminate the possibility of chicken legs!

Body Position – Stand with your back to the bar. Try to position your feet a little wider apart than your shoulders. Place your hands comfortably on the bar. Your bar should be located around mid-trapezius height.

Movement – Hold the bar steady, and squat using your hips and the bend of your knees to help you. Your focus should be forward at all times to prevent you falling.

Remember to keep your torso straight to avoid putting strain on your back.

Completion – Rise back up to your starting position using your knees and hips.

Keep exhaling to increase the oxygen levels in your blood. Control your movement carefully throughout.

Deadlift

This will combine your upper and lower body in one solid exercise.

Body Position – Your feet should be slightly wider apart than your shoulders. The bar should rest across the top of your feet. Keep your focus forward, bend your knees, and grab the bar. Your back should be perfectly rigid.

Movement – Maintaining the rigidity of your back, raise the bar. Your arms should be fully extended. If you are tempted to bend your back, you are faced with the strong possibility that you will damage your disks. Power should be coming from the lower body.

Completion – Carefully move the bar through the same motion back to the starting position.

CHEST EXERCISES

Incline Press

Body Position – Sit in a reclined seat. Whether the seat is adjustable or fixed, your back should be firmly pressed against it. Your feet need to be in full contact with the ground.

Movement – Lower the bar towards the top of your chest at a controlled rate. Be very sure not to drop the weight on yourself, as this could cause a painful injury.

Completion – Lock your elbows, extend your arms, and move the weight back to its starting position. You should feel the muscles in your upper chest working hard.

Decline Press

Body Position – Lie on the bench and secure your feet on the pads provided. Your head will be at a lower angle than your body. Whether you are using a fixed bench or an adjustable one, your back should be making contact with it at all points.

Movement – Lower the bar towards the top of your chest at a controlled rate. You should feel your lower chest muscles straining.

Completion – Move the bar back to the starting position by extending your arms and locking your elbows. The bar should always be perpendicular to the floor. A good spotter will help you perfect this technique.

ARM EXERCISES

Bicep Curls

Body position – There are many variations of this exercise you can use, but a curl bar comes highly recommended. Using the grips, clutch the bar in an underhanded manner. Your arms will naturally find the right position this way. Your arms need to be near to full extension with the bar on its rest around thigh height.

Movement – Keeping your elbows in a constant position, raise the bar toward your chest. Your muscles should be squeezed tightly. If your elbows move, this will hinder the impact of the exercise.

Completion – Without letting the bar drop vertically, return the bar to the starting position. It should travel exactly the same path as when you lifted it.

Rope Pulldown

Body Position – Your feet need to be the same distance apart as your shoulders as you face the cable machine. The rope handle should be at a height where when you hold it your arms are still pressed tightly to your sides.

Movement – With your arms tight to your sides, hold the rope handle and pull it directly downwards. Your hands will separate slightly as you complete your movement.

Keep your back and torso rigid, and do not bend over your hands. If you use your body weight to push the weight down, you arms will not get a thorough workout.

Completion – Resist and control the return of the weight to the starting position.

This control is what will increase your muscle mass.

BACK EXERCISES

Lateral Pull Down

Body Position – Sit firmly on the chair attached to the overhead cable machine.

Your knees should be comfortably sitting beneath the restraining pad. Grip the handles attached to the lateral bar.

Movement – You can either pull the bar behind or in front of the head. Behind the head is more beneficial as far as the muscles are concerned, but it also increases the likelihood of pulling your shoulder socket.

Completion – In a careful, controlled, steady way, return the bar to the starting position.

Bent over Row

Body Position – Stand sideways on to the bench. Leaving the outer leg on the floor, bend your inner leg and place the knee on the bench. Put your outer hand on the bench, so your body is situated directly over the bench. Use your free hand to pick up the dumbbell which should be on the free side of the bench.

Movement – Pick the weight up from the floor and pull it straight up. This movement should leave it around hip height and slightly in front of your body.

Completion – Control the descent of the weight until it is a few inches from floor level. Do not allow it to bang on the ground.

LEG EXERCISES

Lunges

Body Position – Take a normal stride, freeze, and then extend the stride a little more. One foot should be in front of the other. The knee of the leading foot should rest directly above its accompanying foot. Depending on your level, you can also do this exercise holding a free weight in each palm.

Movement – Keep your focus forward, and use your front knee to lower the trailing knee towards the ground. Do not lean and cause a deficiency in the exercise.

Completion – Straighten both legs to raise your body. Your abdominal muscles and lower back muscles should be utilized to maintain the rigidity of your upper body.

Leg Press

Body Position – Seat your self comfortably on the leg press machine. Your feet should be evenly spaced in the middle of the footpad, and the angle of your knees should slightly exceed 95 degrees.

Movement – Extend your legs slowly, to the point where they almost lock (but don’t!) using pressure from your heels. If you use your toes to push, the exercise will not work as you intend it to.

Completion – Carefully, and at a slow pace, return the weight to the starting point.

It should not slam back; you should be resisting it all the way.

This list of different exercises is certainly not exhaustive. However, these are some of the simplest and most effective exercises you can include in your routine. It will be useful to have a variety of options when you become more advanced in your planning, and want to target specific areas to work on.



By: Thomas Calkins

About the Author:

Body Weight Fitness

Core Training is a very popular philosophy sweeping over fitness programs.  At a quick glance core training appears to be simply abdominal exercises and lower back exercises, but core training is so much more.  Core training is all about good alignment, joint stability, and efficient movement, and your core includes your entire spine, shoulder girdle, and hip girdle.

When you perform core exercises you can focus on 3 things: stability, strength, or power.  Although stability, strength, and power are all related you can emphasize a certain benefit by choosing specific exercises and performing them in a specific way.  Stability refers to the ability of your muscles to maintain a joint’s position, posture, and alignment.  Strength refers to the ability of your muscles to move a certain amount of resistance through the full range of motion.  And power refers to the ability of your muscles to move your body with speed.

In this article, I want to focus on developing core stability.  One possible cause of lower back pain is a lack of stability in the pelvis and lower back.  When your back is unstable, there is more pressure on the joints of your back.  In addition, when your back is unstable your sports performance is decreased.  So, developing core stability is important for everyone from people with desk jobs to elite athletes.

Let me ask you a question that speaks to the importance of core stability.  Is it easier to run on sand or grass?  Most people will say that it is easier to run on grass.  Since the grass is more stable than the sand it’s easier for your muscles to push you forward as you run.  Because the sand in unstable, your muscles have a harder time pushing your forward as you run.

You should think of your spine in the same way that you think about your running surface.  When your spine is stable, your muscles work more efficiently.  When your muscles work more efficiently, you have a lower risk of injury and perform at a higher level.

Well, you may be asking which type of exercises is best for core stabilization.  Some of the best core exercises for stabilization are isometric exercises.  Isometric simply means same length or no movement, so during isometric exercises the position of your spine does not change.  Two of the first core stabilization exercises that I teach my clients are the drawing in maneuver and the plank.

The drawing in maneuver is the best exercise for the transversus abdominus.  In movement studies, physiotherapists found that the transversus abdominus is the first abdominal muscle to fire when you move your arms are legs.  They also found that it lags behind in people with lower back pain.  To re-educate your transverse abdominus (your natural girdle) you must practice pulling your belly button in towards your spine.

You can practice the drawing in maneuver from many positions, but the key is to keep your spine in a neutral or balanced position when you pull in.  You can perform the drawing in maneuver while lying on your back, so gravity can assist you.  Then, you can progress to seated or standing where gravity is more neutral, and the most challenging position is lying face down or on your hands and knees where gravity pulls down against you.  No matter which position you choose, pull in your belly button and hold for 5-10 seconds and repeat for 10 repetitions.  When personal trainers or physical therapists say pull in your abs, they are referring to the drawing in maneuver.

Another great core exercise for stabilization is the plank.  The plank is a popular yoga pose that has crossed over into many other areas of fitness.  It involves balancing face down on your elbows and your toes.  There are two main keys when performing the plank.  First, you should keep good alignment through your spine and entire body.  And, second, you should pull in your belly button and use the drawing in maneuver throughout the entire set.

Attempt to hold the plank for 10 seconds to 60 seconds.  Repeat the exercise 2-3 times.  If you shake when you first try the plank, don’t worry about it.  As your coordination and strength improve you will shake less.  Also, if the full plank from your toes and elbows is too challenging, you can build up your strength using the half plank which is done from the knees and the elbows.

Once you have increased your core stabilization, move on to focus more on core strength.  Core strength is best improved by using exercises that move your spine through a large range of motion against resistance, but that is a topic for another article.

Check below for links to my website to learn more core training tips and view pictures of core exercises.



By: Charles A. Inniss, Jr. DPT

About the Author:

Body Weight Fitness

Different types of core exercises exist. Many of you are probably familiar with an exercise such as the sit-up, which is a great exercise that can be utilized to train the core. If you have read any of our other articles, you are well aware of what the word core means, and its relation to the golf swing. Let us do a quick review for your benefit, and introduce the types of core exercises to perform for your golf swing.

The core is an anatomical region of the body. It can generally be defined as the part of your body between the hips and chest. It in encompasses many muscles groups on the front, side, and backside of the body. In general the core consists of the muscles that make up your; abdominals, lower back, obliques, and hips.

The core region is important to the golf swing for many reasons. The core is essentially called the “engine” of the body. It is the area that “drives” the body for most any human movement, including your golf swing. It is primarily responsible for the capacities of: balance, stability, and power development within the body. For these capacities to occur efficiently it is necessary to train the core for improved performances.

Core Training Concepts

Many of us correlate core training to only the abdominal section of the body. In order to develop the core correctly for the golf swing, we must train all areas of the core equally. This means to address the obliques, hips, and lower back with the same number of exercises and repetitions as you do for the commonly trained abdominal region.

A quick note from experience: More times than none, the majority of individuals have what are termed “imbalances” in the core region. This statement means that certain muscles or muscle groups are weaker than others. The key for optimal performance in golf is to have a balanced core when it comes to the strength, endurance, and power levels in the muscles within this area of the body. Keeping this thought in mind, many times the lower back region is “weaker” than the abdominals (imbalanced core or not balance core as we like to say). If this is the case, additional attention/exercises are needed for the lower back, to bring it “up to speed” so to speak, in level with the abdominals.

Moving forward, knowing that we must train the entire core and create balance between all the muscles. It is time to discuss what type of exercises to utilize in training the core region. To develop the core region for golf you will want to perform exercises in the following categories: stability (balance), strength, endurance, and power. All four of these categories are necessary for an optimal swing. Leaving one of the categories listed above out of your training program is like building a boat with a hole in it. It won’t work!

Let us define the differing training categories of a “golf specific core program” to help you better understand the purpose behind each category. The categories of core training are incorporated in golf training are: 1) Stability (balance) training, 2) strength training, 3) endurance training, and 4) power training.

Stabilization exercises are exercises that develop the balance capabilities of the body. A large portion of your balance capability is directly related to the core region of the body. We know that if you are unable to maintain your balance through out the golf swing. The efficiency of the swing, contact with the ball, and club head speed, will be compromised. For example, when you swing your driver and are not able to maintain that perfect “finished position”, the problem may be related to you ability to balance.

Balance training develops the integration of your neural and muscular systems. Improvement in the functioning of these two systems of the body and integration of these two systems will result in a better swing. Follow the logic and it will all make sense. If you improve the ability of your body to balance, then the ability to maintain balance within your golf swing will become easier. Implementation of exercises into your core program that improve your balance (stabilization) capacities then a direct transfer into your golf swing will result.

The golf swing requires that certain body parts remain in a stable position, while other body parts are moving. These actions occur simultaneously. To perform a powerful golf swing, the body must have the capacities to perform this action.

In order to perform the above activity it is required to develop the strength parameters of the core. If you have a weak core then the ability to maintain a posture, keep a posture, and perform this over a period of time will be compromised. To repeat, the core region of the body is involved in the stabilization process of the body. To improve this capacity, we must train the body to be more efficient at stabilizing itself during the golf swing. Strength exercises develop and improve this capacity within your body for the purpose of improving your golf swing.

The golf swing is a repetitive movement performed by the body. You are doing the same activity over and over. An efficient golf swing and good scores require that you perform the same swing on the 18th hole as you do on the 1st hole. If you are unable to repeat your swing mechanics of your swing will suffer, as will your scores. To eliminate this situation it is necessary to develop the endurance capacities of the core region. Endurance exercises allow the body to perform the same activity over and over without getting fatigued. As a result of the golf swing being a repetitive athletic movement, endurance training will enhance the ability to maintain your optimal swing mechanics over an extended period of time.

Power Exercises are geared towards improving the power outputs of the body. The core region of the body is directly related to torque development in the golf swing. Power can also be defined as torque (rotational power) when discussing the golf swing. In order to create high amounts of club head, it is required of the body to create large amounts of torque. Creating greater power in the golf swing is the result of inputting power exercises into a comprehensive core training program.

Summary

In this article we have describe the core and how to train the core specifically for the improvement of your golf game. A few points to keep in mind from this article: 1) the core is a region of the body that includes all muscles from your hips to your chest, 2) you must develop the capacities of stability, strength, endurance, and power within the core for a benefit in your game, and 3) the development of the core must be balanced in terms of all muscles involved, and in all the training components (equal amounts of stability, strength, endurance, and power) within the core. For more information of golf specific training please look at our website www.BioForceGolf.com



By: Sean Cochran

About the Author:

Body Weight Workout

Do you want to know the importance of golf exercises? PGA players do them consistently throughout the week of a tournament and are seeing great results. In fact look at the top players on the pga tour and you will see proof. Tiger, Vijay, Adam Scott and many others are reaping the benefits of an exercise program specific to golf.

Exercise Specific To Your Swing

The key to their success on tour is to work on exercises specific to their golf swing. Every player has different weaknesses in their body they need to address to improve their swing and overall performance. These pga players know how important it is to do a fitness program that will improve their golf swing faults and physical weaknesses.

This type of training to improve golf swing power and consistency involves strength, flexibility, balance, coordination, body awareness (proprioception). This cannot be accomplished with machines. Machines are controlled and usually isolate only one muscle group, where the golf swing involves the entire body in a sequential motion.

The PGA Is Too Competitive To Ignore An Exercise Program

The PGA Tour has gotten too competitive to think you can go on raw talent. In fact, raw talent won’t even get you on the tour anymore. There are hundreds if not thousands of excellent golfers who dream being on tour, but don’t make that total commitment to become a golfing athlete.

This commitment is above and beyond what the earlier pga players did, but that will not cut it anymore. Todays players are athletes. All athletes condition their body’s to perform. It is time amateur golfers took notice.

Core Exercises Are Very Popular On Tour

I was watching a very good segment on the television with Vijay Singh and his trainer. It was impressive! One of the focuses his trainer said was on core exercises using a weighted medicine ball. Vijay was throwing to his trainer dozens of times from different angles strengthening not only his golf muscles, but his core, helping him be one of the longer hitters on tour.

Golf Swing Flexibility Is An Important Element

Many of the pga players know how important it is to stay limber. They all partake in flexibility exercises specific to their swing. These stretches are either done with the trainers assistance, or can be done alone, even in their hotel rooms. But either way, they all incorporate flexibility exercises to keep their golf swings fluid and tension-free.

Golf Fitness Is Here To Stay

Anyway you look at it, golf fitness is going to be an integral part of the pga players program if he wants to succeed and make a consistent living on tour.

Embrace it in your golf performance approach and you will soon reap the benefits of lower scores and the enjoyment of blasting your drives long and straight!



By: Mike Pedersen

About the Author:

Body Weight Training

There are 3 phases of Core Training.   When you perform core exercises you can focus on 3 things: stability, strength, or power.  Although stability, strength, and power are all related you can emphasize a certain benefit by choosing specific exercises and performing them in a specific way.  Stability refers to the ability of your muscles to maintain a joint’s position, posture, and alignment.  Strength refers to the ability of your muscles to move a certain amount of resistance through the full range of motion.  And power refers to the ability of your muscles to move your body with speed.

Core stabilization is best developed by isometric exercises.  Isometric exercises are exercises in which the core, pelvis, and spine have little to no movement. Core power is best developed when you perform exercises in a fast and explosive manner.  Core strength is best developed when you move through the full range of motion in a controlled way and sometimes against resistance.  In this article I want to talk about developing core strength. 

Stabilization is the foundation of core training, but as soon as you master stability exercises like the drawing in maneuver and the plank, you should then focus on exercises that challenge your abdominal muscles and lower back muscles through a greater range of motion.  Crunches on a ball and lower back extensions on a ball are both good core strengthening exercises.

Let’s talk about crunches.  Crunches on the floor are a good exercise for developing strength, but on the floor your range of motion is limited.  Because of decreased range of motion on the floor many physical therapists and personal trainers recommend doing crunches on an exercise ball.  When you perform crunches on the ball, your hips and spine are slightly extended, and this gives you more range of motion.  In regards to strengthening any muscle, the greater range of motion you use the greater gains in strength you will achieve.

Okay, now let’s talk about working the lower back muscles on the ball.  The same issues hold true when comparing back extensions on the floor and back extensions on the ball.  You have less range of motion on the floor, so you may not achieve the same improvement in strength.  If you don’t have access to a ball, back extensions on the floor are still a great lower back exercise, but you can enhance the range of motion using a ball.  When you think about core strength, your goal should be to develop your abdominal and lower back muscles through the greatest range of motion possible.  Of course, never compromise form, and always move in the pain free range of motion.

Here’s another tip for developing core strength.  If you want to maximize your strength gains, you must increase or add resistance to your core exercises once they become easy.  The abdominal muscles are just like other muscles.  In order to break strength plateaus, you must increase the challenge by adding resistance.  You can add resistance to your core exercises in many ways.  You can use dumbbells, weighted plates, cables, tubing, or ankle weights.

You can use dumbbells or weighted plates across your chest to add resistance to your crunches.  In addition, you can use cables or tubing to add resistance to your crunches or perform functional moves such as standing rotations, lifts, or chops.  You can even use ankle weights to add resistance to core moves that involve the legs.

Remember, that before you rush off to challenge your core muscles with resistance, you should first develop stability.  Also, begin light when you start to add resistance and build up slowly.  More resistance means more pressure on your muscles and joints, and more pressure can increase the risk of injury, especially if you have incorrect form or posture.

After you have developed adequate core strength, the next step is to develop your power and speed.  If you participate in sports developing speed is essential to performance and injury prevention.  However, if you are not an athlete, you might put less emphasis on developing power and more on stabilization and strength.



By: Charles A. Inniss, Jr. DPT

About the Author:

Body Weight Workout

The right core exercises can mean the difference between great progress and definite results with your core training program or not getting any results at all.

There are hundreds of muscles in the core of your body – the abdominals (all layers), lower and mid back, pelvic region, obliques and the popular ‘love handle’ areas are loaded with muscles of all different sizes, shapes, lengths and angles – which require specific exercises to produce the desired strength training effect for optimal fitness.

The following exercises can serve as a core training primer for beginners or they can be added or substituted into your current core workout routine.

1 – Lying face up, hand down at your side. Bring your legs up, knees slightly bent with the bottom of your feet toward the ceiling. This is your start position. While keeping the abdominals pulled in (contracted), slowly lower your right leg, until the heel touches the ground, and then raise it back up. Do this fifteen times. Then switch legs.

2 – Lying face up with knees bent, feet off the floor. Arms are extended as if reaching toward the sky if you were standing. As you breathe out, slowly bring your knees toward you by contracting your abdominals (pulling inward). Then breathe in as you return to the start position.

3 – Lying face up with knees bent, heels on the ground and toes pointing up. Lift your **** off the ground to engage the core muscles. Now, here is where the fun starts. Lift one foot off the floor, extending that leg until it is straight, bring it back to the start position (heel on ground) and then do the same with the other leg. Keep alternating until you do a total of twenty, ten on each side.

If this exercise sequence is too easy, go through it again and see how you do. You can add these exercises to your current routine or if you are a beginner you can use this as a stand alone routine to get you going. If it was too challenging, decrease the number of repetitions to about five and do this every other day. Gradually increase the repetitions as your core gets stronger.

A big mistake many people, even trainers, make is to mimic the core training routines of bodybuilders or power-lifters. The problem with that is most people are not bodybuilders or power-lifters – and these people tend to over-train anyway (I know this because I used to do it myself!). The problems here range from a lot of wasted time to serious, long term injuries.

This happens every day to people who try to exercise without proper guidance and it’s one the reasons why physical therapists are so busy!

The proper workout must be designed to provide the most effective exercise training stimulus to the entire midsection, in the shortest amount of time (because we are all very busy people, right?), with minimal risk of injury. The problem is it is extremely rare to find an abdominal and core workout routine that fits all of these criteria.

These are the exact principles I follow when training my personal, one-on-one clients AND they are the same principles I follow in my own fitness training workout program. Structure your own program according to the principles outlined above, with the proper selection of core exercises for effective and safe results.



By: Joey Atlas

About the Author:

Body Weight Routine