Posts Tagged ‘Exercises’
While there is no way to spot reduce fat through exercising or diet alone, one of the best ways to ensure a flatter stomach is by strengthening your core. In recent years, several forms of exercise have become popular that address this group of muscles, which are located in the abdomen, lower back and pelvis. They’ve been endorsed by Hollywood celebrities and models, who tout the longer, leaner look they’ve achieved through these low-impact exercises that are popular for their flowing, graceful movements and ease of practice. Many can be practiced at home, though some may require special equipment. Pilates, yoga, and use of an exercise ball are the most popular examples of these core exercises.
Pilates is the newest craze in core exercising, though it has been around since the first World War. The focus here is on form and breathing. Every move has to be carefully conducted, involving all parts of the body. The main theories include precision and control, rhythm and flow, concentration, balanced muscle development, and centering. Statistics show there are over 14,000 Pilates instructors in the United States and millions of practitioners. Moves are easily modified for all fitness levels. While some complain that Pilates includes complicated equipment and high-priced lessons, there are many instructional videos available that allow you to practice at home for a fraction of the cost.
Yoga is a spiritual practice that originated in India thousands of years ago. It is not only a form of exercise, but also a way of life for many. Yoga involves several postures, or asanas, that come together in various sequences. Yoga poses can be easily modified based on your fitness level. No special equipment is needed, though some might purchase a yoga mat, block and strap. There are several variations of yoga in the West, and it is no longer solely a spiritual practice, as many who practice it only regard it as a form of exercise.
The exercise ball is a large inflatable ball used to perform various exercises. The most popular are sit-ups and push-ups, as the ball forces you to maintain your balance while performing these basic exercises. This continual balancing act strengthens your core muscles. Many videos are available, and some incorporate yoga or Pilates as well. The ball is easily deflated for storage and usually costs less than $20. It is a convenient way to practice balance in your own home and use traditional exercises to strengthen core muscles.
No matter what exercise method you choose, these are not created for quick weight loss, but rather to give you a longer, leaner look. You may notice a reduction in inches before a significant drop in body weight. Be sure to follow a sensible diet, and if cravings are a problem, try a natural appetite suppressant like hoodia to keep you on track.
By: Susan Patterson
About the Author:
Pilates is the newest craze in core exercising, though it has been around since the first World War. The focus here is on form and breathing. Every move has to be carefully conducted, involving all parts of the body. The main theories include precision and control, rhythm and flow, concentration, balanced muscle development, and centering. Statistics show there are over 14,000 Pilates instructors in the United States and millions of practitioners. Moves are easily modified for all fitness levels. While some complain that Pilates includes complicated equipment and high-priced lessons, there are many instructional videos available that allow you to practice at home for a fraction of the cost.
Yoga is a spiritual practice that originated in India thousands of years ago. It is not only a form of exercise, but also a way of life for many. Yoga involves several postures, or asanas, that come together in various sequences. Yoga poses can be easily modified based on your fitness level. No special equipment is needed, though some might purchase a yoga mat, block and strap. There are several variations of yoga in the West, and it is no longer solely a spiritual practice, as many who practice it only regard it as a form of exercise.
The exercise ball is a large inflatable ball used to perform various exercises. The most popular are sit-ups and push-ups, as the ball forces you to maintain your balance while performing these basic exercises. This continual balancing act strengthens your core muscles. Many videos are available, and some incorporate yoga or Pilates as well. The ball is easily deflated for storage and usually costs less than $20. It is a convenient way to practice balance in your own home and use traditional exercises to strengthen core muscles.
No matter what exercise method you choose, these are not created for quick weight loss, but rather to give you a longer, leaner look. You may notice a reduction in inches before a significant drop in body weight. Be sure to follow a sensible diet, and if cravings are a problem, try a natural appetite suppressant like hoodia to keep you on track.
By: Susan Patterson
About the Author:
Susan Patterson has been studying alternative medicine and health for over 10 years. She loves to write to help others, especially in the area of quick weight loss, which can be accomplished safely. She has found several herbal remedies to be effective in her journey to better health without the side effects that medications cause. She is particularly passionate about hoodia for weight loss. Other interests include exercise, yoga and meditation.
I’ve recently acquired a pull-up bar made by Iron Gym products. I have to say, I’ve had my eye on one of these for a while. Now I do have a full squat rack of where I’m able to do pull-ups from, but am I able to fit my squat rack in between my door way or in the hallway? Nope, I don’t think so. With that said, the mobility of the pull-up bar is phenomenal.
Right when I get out of bed in the morning, all I have to do is simply slip the pull-bar in between my door way and walla! I can knock out a mini workout or warm-up whenever I want. Not to mention the benefits of doing pull-ups are simply outrageous. Pull-ups is an exercise very few people can do, simply because of the lack of upper body strength. I know a few people who can power clean over 250lbs but at the same time they have hard time doing 5 regular pull-ups.
With this piece of gym equipment, you can do a variety of exercises. Not only can you do under hand pull-ups, but you can also do over hand pull-ups as well. Wide or close-grip, you choose for the better. The pull-up bar can also be used as a push-up platform on the ground. With push-ups, it allows you to hit more muscle fibers of the chest and thus allowing you to get more of an effective workout that what regular push-ups offer. Anyways, for $30, you can’t go wrong with the price. If you’ve always wanted to set up your own home gym, the pull-up bar is an awesome start. If you’re wanting to buy this product, it can be located at your local sports store.
By: vishal
About the Author:
Right when I get out of bed in the morning, all I have to do is simply slip the pull-bar in between my door way and walla! I can knock out a mini workout or warm-up whenever I want. Not to mention the benefits of doing pull-ups are simply outrageous. Pull-ups is an exercise very few people can do, simply because of the lack of upper body strength. I know a few people who can power clean over 250lbs but at the same time they have hard time doing 5 regular pull-ups.
With this piece of gym equipment, you can do a variety of exercises. Not only can you do under hand pull-ups, but you can also do over hand pull-ups as well. Wide or close-grip, you choose for the better. The pull-up bar can also be used as a push-up platform on the ground. With push-ups, it allows you to hit more muscle fibers of the chest and thus allowing you to get more of an effective workout that what regular push-ups offer. Anyways, for $30, you can’t go wrong with the price. If you’ve always wanted to set up your own home gym, the pull-up bar is an awesome start. If you’re wanting to buy this product, it can be located at your local sports store.
By: vishal
About the Author:
Read About Bodybuilding Also Read About Weight Loss Techniques And Benefits of Losing Weight
Pull ups are hard, but they are one of the few true tests of strength. I say this because some powerlifters can bench 600 or squat 800, but they also weigh 300+ and can barely manage 5 pull ups. This is one of the few exercises where you can measure relative fitness by comparing the ratio of the number of pull ups completed to bodyweight.
Some of you might get mad at me, talking about powerlifters training for strength rather than endurance, but the fact of the matter is that when I was powerlifting I could still do 15 pull ups at 195 lbs.
Now, let me take you back to high school gym class; the year was 1993, I was 15 years old. Mr. Buatti the gym teacher, who happens to bare a striking resemblance to Coach Buzzcut, called my name to stand up in front of the class and do an many pull ups as I can. The football jocks each knocked out from 10 to 20 and the wiry tough kid with only 3 fingers on one hand completed 14 of them. I got 3. It was humiliating.
Now we come back to the present. Recently I started doing pull ups again after a year layoff. On my first set, I got 5 reps. A week later I was up to 8 reps. Just yesterday I did a set of 11 reps. But I want more. I have done 18 pull ups before; I have also done 5 pull ups with a 45 lb plate hanging off a belt. So, how can I get back to that place? How can YOU get to that place?
The Pyramid Pull Up Strategy
This is the description of a little program that I have used to increase my pull ups quickly in the past.
Here are the instructions:
1. Start by doing one pull up.
2. Rest for 10 seconds, but don’t hang there. Stand on something and take all the tension off your arms and back.
3. Do one pull up more than you did in the previous step.
4. Go back to step 2 and repeat until you can’t complete the required reps.
5. Take a break for 2 minutes and do it again. Complete 2-3 sets.
You might feel weak because normally you can do 10 or 12 pull ups in a set, and you finish this exercise with a set of 6. We need to look at an example to see why this is so effective.
Normally I could do 3 sets of 11, 9, and 7 reps for a total of 27 reps at bodyweight. Using the pyramid I ended up doing sets of 1,2,3,4,5,6 then 1,2,3,4,3 and 1,2,3,1 for a total of 41 reps at bodyweight in nearly the same amount of time. That’s nearly a 50% increase in the number of reps in just one day!
Which protocol do you think will force your body to adapt and grow stronger?
Try completing a pull up pyramid twice a week for 1 month then see what your new 1 set max is. Over the course of 4 weeks I have gone from 5 reps to 11 reps by doing the pyramid once a week and 1 regular set of pull ups every other morning.
By: Steve Hanson
About the Author:
Some of you might get mad at me, talking about powerlifters training for strength rather than endurance, but the fact of the matter is that when I was powerlifting I could still do 15 pull ups at 195 lbs.
Now, let me take you back to high school gym class; the year was 1993, I was 15 years old. Mr. Buatti the gym teacher, who happens to bare a striking resemblance to Coach Buzzcut, called my name to stand up in front of the class and do an many pull ups as I can. The football jocks each knocked out from 10 to 20 and the wiry tough kid with only 3 fingers on one hand completed 14 of them. I got 3. It was humiliating.
Now we come back to the present. Recently I started doing pull ups again after a year layoff. On my first set, I got 5 reps. A week later I was up to 8 reps. Just yesterday I did a set of 11 reps. But I want more. I have done 18 pull ups before; I have also done 5 pull ups with a 45 lb plate hanging off a belt. So, how can I get back to that place? How can YOU get to that place?
The Pyramid Pull Up Strategy
This is the description of a little program that I have used to increase my pull ups quickly in the past.
Here are the instructions:
1. Start by doing one pull up.
2. Rest for 10 seconds, but don’t hang there. Stand on something and take all the tension off your arms and back.
3. Do one pull up more than you did in the previous step.
4. Go back to step 2 and repeat until you can’t complete the required reps.
5. Take a break for 2 minutes and do it again. Complete 2-3 sets.
You might feel weak because normally you can do 10 or 12 pull ups in a set, and you finish this exercise with a set of 6. We need to look at an example to see why this is so effective.
Normally I could do 3 sets of 11, 9, and 7 reps for a total of 27 reps at bodyweight. Using the pyramid I ended up doing sets of 1,2,3,4,5,6 then 1,2,3,4,3 and 1,2,3,1 for a total of 41 reps at bodyweight in nearly the same amount of time. That’s nearly a 50% increase in the number of reps in just one day!
Which protocol do you think will force your body to adapt and grow stronger?
Try completing a pull up pyramid twice a week for 1 month then see what your new 1 set max is. Over the course of 4 weeks I have gone from 5 reps to 11 reps by doing the pyramid once a week and 1 regular set of pull ups every other morning.
By: Steve Hanson
About the Author:
Steve Hanson has 10 years experience in the fields of exercise science and sports nutrition. He writes articles on all forms of athletic training and nutritional theories. View the blog to learn more about your favorite exercise and nutrition topics.
Push-ups aren’t just for those super athletic sorts you see on TV or films. These exercises are an effective and cheap way to hone your upper body.
No other movement is quite as effective at strengthening your chest, deltoids, lower back and triceps as the good old push-up. When done perfectly push-up’s controlled movements offer three types of muscle-building resistance (isometric, concenctric and eccentric) whilst getting all the muscles to work together.
What follows are details on how to perform push-ups correctly:
1. Lie flat on your chest, legs together, with your hand palms flat on the ground next to your shoulder, slightly in excess of your shoulder width. Your only your toes should be curled round and flat on the floor so as to soon be able to take the weight of your body.
2. Look forward, not down towards the floor. Ensure that only your chin is the part of your face that may touch the floor.
3. Keeping your whole body rigid/ straight you then need to straighten your arms so as to elevate your body off the floor. Aim not to arch your back or bend your legs.
4. When your arms start to straighten up exhale the air from your lungs.
5. Take a moment to pause whilst at the highest position possible.
6. Using your arms, lower your body slowly to the floor. As you bend your arms remember to keep your palms in a fixed position on the floor. As usual your body must be kept straight in a rigid fashion, legs and feet together.
7. Keep lowering your body right until your chest touches the floor. Try not to let your back arch. Your knees should not make contact with the floor. As you bend your arms breathe in.
8. Take a moment to pause, then begin the whole process again to perform the second push-up. Start to straighten your arms and exhale as you rise.
Modifications and things to be aware of:
If you want to make the push-ups easier rest your knees on the ground at all times, and/ or have an exercise partner place their fist on the ground below your chest to stop you lowering your body as far.
A variation on this exercise is to perform it whilst leaning against a vertical wall. This is called the ‘incline push-up’.
Importantly, if you have any physical ailments that hinder this exercise in any way stop engaging in physical exercise and seek professional medical advice on the situation.
By: Alex Rider
About the Author:
No other movement is quite as effective at strengthening your chest, deltoids, lower back and triceps as the good old push-up. When done perfectly push-up’s controlled movements offer three types of muscle-building resistance (isometric, concenctric and eccentric) whilst getting all the muscles to work together.
What follows are details on how to perform push-ups correctly:
1. Lie flat on your chest, legs together, with your hand palms flat on the ground next to your shoulder, slightly in excess of your shoulder width. Your only your toes should be curled round and flat on the floor so as to soon be able to take the weight of your body.
2. Look forward, not down towards the floor. Ensure that only your chin is the part of your face that may touch the floor.
3. Keeping your whole body rigid/ straight you then need to straighten your arms so as to elevate your body off the floor. Aim not to arch your back or bend your legs.
4. When your arms start to straighten up exhale the air from your lungs.
5. Take a moment to pause whilst at the highest position possible.
6. Using your arms, lower your body slowly to the floor. As you bend your arms remember to keep your palms in a fixed position on the floor. As usual your body must be kept straight in a rigid fashion, legs and feet together.
7. Keep lowering your body right until your chest touches the floor. Try not to let your back arch. Your knees should not make contact with the floor. As you bend your arms breathe in.
8. Take a moment to pause, then begin the whole process again to perform the second push-up. Start to straighten your arms and exhale as you rise.
Modifications and things to be aware of:
If you want to make the push-ups easier rest your knees on the ground at all times, and/ or have an exercise partner place their fist on the ground below your chest to stop you lowering your body as far.
A variation on this exercise is to perform it whilst leaning against a vertical wall. This is called the ‘incline push-up’.
Importantly, if you have any physical ailments that hinder this exercise in any way stop engaging in physical exercise and seek professional medical advice on the situation.
By: Alex Rider
About the Author:
For information on fitness nutrition aspects like, what high energy foods are best before exercises, or, the foods best associated with particular work outs and sports, visit http://www.fit4fitness.com/Increase-Your-Energy-Levels-By-Eating-High-Energy-Foods.php . Information here is current and constantly updated.
Everyone knows how to do a proper push up. Or do they? Sometimes I cringe when I see men and women, or boys and girls, perform a push up. Actually, they tell me it is a push up, but I’m not really sure! In this article I’ll go over what you must do (and not do) in order to perform a proper push up.
But first, why should you even do push ups?
The push up is more than an upper body exercise. It is a full body exercise requiring core stability and balance as well as strength to complete. I’m a big fan of exercises that require the entire body because it teaches your body to function as one complete unit, instead of a bunch of unrelated parts.
So, what constitutes a proper push up?
The push up is a slow and deep lowering and raising of the body while the body remains straight and stiff. The body has to remain stiff and straight throughout the entire lowering and raising. The only thing that moves during the movement is the arms.
The body should be straight at the top, during and at the bottom of the movement. This is accomplished by using your core stabilizer muscles, **** and legs to make your body as ridged as possible. As you can see, your whole body is involved in completing a proper push up, and not just your upper body.
Upper body strength and core strength must be coordinated to do a proper push up. If either your upper body or core is weaker than the other, errors will occur and performance is reduced.
If you are making any of these common mistakes, you are not performing a proper push up.
- Don’t sag in the middle. Your stomach should not drop down… you must remain ridged.
- Don’t raise your ****. Your **** should not be in the air in an attempt to rest or decrease the distance the proper push up must travel… remain straight.
- Don’t lead with the head and neck. Don’t crane the neck and seek the ground with your nose in an attempt to shorten the push up distance… your whole body must be lowered and raised.
- Don’t bounce. Your body should stop short of touching the ground… don’t hit the ground for the rebound effect.
- Don’t stop short. You must complete the full range of motion to be considered a proper push up.
- Don’t go too fast. Many people go fast to use elastic energy to help them complete the up movement… the tempo should be slow and steady to be considered a proper push up.
- Don’t rest. If you have to stop, the set is over.
If you find yourself committing any of these mistakes during the set… terminate the set. I would much rather you do a few great push ups than a lot of sloppy movements. You’ll get more physical benefits by performing each repetition perfectly, than boasting high numbers of bad push ups.
Now, drop and give me 20 good push ups, if you can!
By: Eddie Lomax
About the Author:
But first, why should you even do push ups?
The push up is more than an upper body exercise. It is a full body exercise requiring core stability and balance as well as strength to complete. I’m a big fan of exercises that require the entire body because it teaches your body to function as one complete unit, instead of a bunch of unrelated parts.
So, what constitutes a proper push up?
The push up is a slow and deep lowering and raising of the body while the body remains straight and stiff. The body has to remain stiff and straight throughout the entire lowering and raising. The only thing that moves during the movement is the arms.
The body should be straight at the top, during and at the bottom of the movement. This is accomplished by using your core stabilizer muscles, **** and legs to make your body as ridged as possible. As you can see, your whole body is involved in completing a proper push up, and not just your upper body.
Upper body strength and core strength must be coordinated to do a proper push up. If either your upper body or core is weaker than the other, errors will occur and performance is reduced.
If you are making any of these common mistakes, you are not performing a proper push up.
- Don’t sag in the middle. Your stomach should not drop down… you must remain ridged.
- Don’t raise your ****. Your **** should not be in the air in an attempt to rest or decrease the distance the proper push up must travel… remain straight.
- Don’t lead with the head and neck. Don’t crane the neck and seek the ground with your nose in an attempt to shorten the push up distance… your whole body must be lowered and raised.
- Don’t bounce. Your body should stop short of touching the ground… don’t hit the ground for the rebound effect.
- Don’t stop short. You must complete the full range of motion to be considered a proper push up.
- Don’t go too fast. Many people go fast to use elastic energy to help them complete the up movement… the tempo should be slow and steady to be considered a proper push up.
- Don’t rest. If you have to stop, the set is over.
If you find yourself committing any of these mistakes during the set… terminate the set. I would much rather you do a few great push ups than a lot of sloppy movements. You’ll get more physical benefits by performing each repetition perfectly, than boasting high numbers of bad push ups.
Now, drop and give me 20 good push ups, if you can!
By: Eddie Lomax
About the Author:
Coach Eddie Lomax, author of Workout Without Weights uses bodyweight exercises like push ups to improve fitness, burn fat and build an attractive physique. No equipment necessary, so you can start today!
Push-ups are one of the oldest and easiest exercises that you can do to keep yourself healthy and fit in every way. They are probably one of the cheapest and best exercises, as they can be done at the comfort of home without much guidance. Unfortunately many people don’t know how to perform pushups and thus don’t know the benefits too.
Pushups can offer you with many perks, only when you perform it in a proper way.
In today’s busy world many people won’t find enough time to go to a gym and workout for hours to be fit and healthy but a simple pushup does it all. They are one of the excellent ways of exercising and can be done anywhere as they are budget friendly too.
Pushups are designed to strengthen your triceps, pectorals, shoulders and almost the whole of your upper body. Performing pushups will not only help you to pump up blood to muscles but will also help you to lose weight and keep you fit in all possible ways.
As I always say warm-ups are very essential before doing any kind of workout. It will be more effective, if you warm-up well before starting your pushups.
Pushups can be done in various ways:
Regular Pushups- Regular push-ups are the usual push-ups that everybody does.
Wide pushups keep your hands just a bit wider than shoulder width, in order to gain maximum effect.
Medicine ball pushups- This is performed just like a normal pushup, but the only difference is to use medicine ball. This move requires lot of core strength. Medicine ball pushup is a bit advanced one, as it stabilizes the muscles of your upper body and gives you great strength.
Chair pushups- Performing chair pushups are very useful for lower chest, shoulder and triceps. Let me tell you how to do this. Have two chairs of equal height of your shoulder far away from one another. Place one hand flat on each seat and extend legs behind. Press yourself back up and repeat as many times as possible.
“But some fitness gurus recommend that it is better to use stairs than chair as they increase resistance and stamina”.
As push-ups are a high-rep exercise, they help to increase your blood flow within the muscles and arms. If you use these exercises properly, you will definitely gain strength and condition your muscles. Start with the basic push-up and work up to 3 sets of 8 reps, then challenge yourself more.
By: Ranju Kumar
About the Author:
Pushups can offer you with many perks, only when you perform it in a proper way.
In today’s busy world many people won’t find enough time to go to a gym and workout for hours to be fit and healthy but a simple pushup does it all. They are one of the excellent ways of exercising and can be done anywhere as they are budget friendly too.
Pushups are designed to strengthen your triceps, pectorals, shoulders and almost the whole of your upper body. Performing pushups will not only help you to pump up blood to muscles but will also help you to lose weight and keep you fit in all possible ways.
As I always say warm-ups are very essential before doing any kind of workout. It will be more effective, if you warm-up well before starting your pushups.
Pushups can be done in various ways:
Regular Pushups- Regular push-ups are the usual push-ups that everybody does.
Wide pushups keep your hands just a bit wider than shoulder width, in order to gain maximum effect.
Medicine ball pushups- This is performed just like a normal pushup, but the only difference is to use medicine ball. This move requires lot of core strength. Medicine ball pushup is a bit advanced one, as it stabilizes the muscles of your upper body and gives you great strength.
Chair pushups- Performing chair pushups are very useful for lower chest, shoulder and triceps. Let me tell you how to do this. Have two chairs of equal height of your shoulder far away from one another. Place one hand flat on each seat and extend legs behind. Press yourself back up and repeat as many times as possible.
“But some fitness gurus recommend that it is better to use stairs than chair as they increase resistance and stamina”.
As push-ups are a high-rep exercise, they help to increase your blood flow within the muscles and arms. If you use these exercises properly, you will definitely gain strength and condition your muscles. Start with the basic push-up and work up to 3 sets of 8 reps, then challenge yourself more.
By: Ranju Kumar
About the Author:
Ranju associate editor of 24hr-fitness-workout-guide. Get more specific with your “Push-ups” and a whole bunch of fitness workout programs in the 24hr Fitness Workout Guide.
As I’ve mentioned in other articles, the push up is most likely the first exercise that you learned and the one lay-people do almost instinctively when they try to work out. Yet, the Push Up still remains one of the most valuable and effective movements, provided you know how to use it to its fullest potential.
It’s my goal to give you a new appreciation for the push up and how to use creative push up variations to develop incredible upper body strength.
When it comes to building strength, I have not heard many coaches incorporating the push up. This is most likely because they don’t feel it provides enough overload. In general I would have to agree. However, there a few style of the push-up that can humble even the strongest athlete.
The One Arm Push-Up
The one arm push-up is by far one of the best exercises for developing incredible upper body strength and torso stability, yet it has basically been forgotten.
I feel that the one arm push up is the king of all push-ups and therefore it’s a staple exercise at our facility among our advanced athletes.
Because of its difficulty we use a specific progression strategy to help our athletes accomplish the one arm push up.
Click here to see pictures of this push up progression
Stage 1- One Arm Plank
The one arm plank develops the body awareness and torso control required to perform the one arm push up successfully.
The goal is to maintain a flat pelvis and avoid rotation at the pelvis and lumbar spine.
The one arm plank actually has its own mini-progression.
We start with a wide base of support and gradually progress to a closer base which requires more torso stability.
Stage 2- Lock offs
This exercise builds off of the stability developed in stage 1 and starts to add some single arm strength. This stage also develops the ability to “lock off” at the top position, hence the name.
Stage 3- Roll Over’s
Now that a solid foundation of torso stability and lock off strength has been achieved, we can add the roll over push up. The roll over push up can be done in alternating fashion or one side at time.
This exercise teaches correct body positioning and builds the strength required to push out from the bottom of the one arm push up while still allowing some assistance from the other arm.
In order to ensure proper strength progression, make sure to gradually use the arm on the side you’re leaning toward (the working side) more and more and the opposite arm (the non working side) less and less.
Example;
The percentages are how to distribute your bodyweight from arm to arm on the roll over push-up
70% – 30%
80% – 20%
90% – 10%
Once you’re able to achieve a 90% -10% weight distribution from both arms for at least 6 reps, you will be more than ready to start performing the full 1 arm push up.
Feet Elevated Push-Up w/Plate
If one arm push-ups aren’t your style then you might want to try this variation. This style push up can actually work to develop hypertrophy or strength depending on the weight, tempo, reps and rest used. Use a heavy enough plate and your abs will be talking to you as well.
Click here to see pictures of each exercise listed above
By: Nick Tumminello
About the Author:
The director of Performance University, Nick Tumminello is a highly sought after coach and educator in the field of human performance enhancement. He is the developer of the Core Bar™ and has authored numerous best selling DVD’s which can be purchased at www.PerformanceU.net .
Nick also serves as the Strength & Conditioning Coach for Team Ground Control MMA. Nick lives in Baltimore MD where he regularly trains his athletes.
Ive been a strength and coniditioning coach for over 10 years now working with athletes and fitness enthusiasts of all levels. Over those ten years Ive used just about every new type of training and exercise under the sun.
With this type of expirience you really start to understand what works and what doesn’t.
Ufornutantley, many of the exercises that really don’t work are the very same ones that the health and fitness magazines are promoting and making popular. This ends up sending many eager exercises down the wrong path
The other isssue is that many less expirenced fitness instructors are also following the magazines and using these same un-effective exercises on a regular basis with clients who are spending their hard on money on something that they hoped they couldn’t get on their own.
My goal with this article is to show you why one f the most poplar exercise specialy amoungst women, the kneeling push, is pretty much a watse of time.
In addition, I will provide you with a much better alternative push up exercsise fro those who cant do regular push ups. This alternative is mouch more effective at building muscle definition and strength while burning more calories.
No More Kneeling Push Ups
My issue with the kneeling push up has nothing to do with mechanics or safety, in that respect the movement is okay. My issue is one of progression, or in this case, a lack there of.
In the past, I have used the kneeling push up as a regression strategy. I did this in the hopes that it had some progression potential and would eventually lead into normal push-ups
Unfortunately, I have found little to no carry over from the kneeling push –up to the regular push-up.
I can’t tell you why the kneeling push-up doesn’t carryover, it could be lever arm length, it could the angle difference, I really don’t know, it just doesn’t.
What I can tell you is that I have seen 100’s of people who could bang out endless reps of kneeling push-ups but still couldn’t even come close to performing a single regular push-up.
The kneeling push up is what I call a “dead end” exercise. Keep doing them and you will go nowhere!
Luckily, we have found a much better regression / progression strategy.
Incline push-ups
An incline push up is performed basically like the traditional style push up except you hold onto a object like a racked barbbell in the gym or the side of your bed if your at home.
The concept here is pretty simple, because you are at an incline there’s less force on the moving muscles and torso stabilizers. Which intern makes the push-up easier?
The best place to do this is on a smith machine because it’s easy to adjust and keep track of the bar depth from session to session.
Once someone can perform 20 quality reps at one height, we simply lower the bar one or two pegs. The lower the bar gets the harder the push up becomes.
As I said earlier, just because someone can easily perform kneeling push-ups doesn’t necessarily mean that they can do any real push-ups.
However, I can promise you from years of experience that if someone can perform 20 reps at a low bar setting; they can definitely bang out a few good reps from the floor.
In the end, this means that your getting stronger. If you’re stronger than you have more muscle. Because muscle is the shape of your body, you will most definitely look better.
By: Nick Tumminello
About the Author:
With this type of expirience you really start to understand what works and what doesn’t.
Ufornutantley, many of the exercises that really don’t work are the very same ones that the health and fitness magazines are promoting and making popular. This ends up sending many eager exercises down the wrong path
The other isssue is that many less expirenced fitness instructors are also following the magazines and using these same un-effective exercises on a regular basis with clients who are spending their hard on money on something that they hoped they couldn’t get on their own.
My goal with this article is to show you why one f the most poplar exercise specialy amoungst women, the kneeling push, is pretty much a watse of time.
In addition, I will provide you with a much better alternative push up exercsise fro those who cant do regular push ups. This alternative is mouch more effective at building muscle definition and strength while burning more calories.
No More Kneeling Push Ups
My issue with the kneeling push up has nothing to do with mechanics or safety, in that respect the movement is okay. My issue is one of progression, or in this case, a lack there of.
In the past, I have used the kneeling push up as a regression strategy. I did this in the hopes that it had some progression potential and would eventually lead into normal push-ups
Unfortunately, I have found little to no carry over from the kneeling push –up to the regular push-up.
I can’t tell you why the kneeling push-up doesn’t carryover, it could be lever arm length, it could the angle difference, I really don’t know, it just doesn’t.
What I can tell you is that I have seen 100’s of people who could bang out endless reps of kneeling push-ups but still couldn’t even come close to performing a single regular push-up.
The kneeling push up is what I call a “dead end” exercise. Keep doing them and you will go nowhere!
Luckily, we have found a much better regression / progression strategy.
Incline push-ups
An incline push up is performed basically like the traditional style push up except you hold onto a object like a racked barbbell in the gym or the side of your bed if your at home.
The concept here is pretty simple, because you are at an incline there’s less force on the moving muscles and torso stabilizers. Which intern makes the push-up easier?
The best place to do this is on a smith machine because it’s easy to adjust and keep track of the bar depth from session to session.
Once someone can perform 20 quality reps at one height, we simply lower the bar one or two pegs. The lower the bar gets the harder the push up becomes.
As I said earlier, just because someone can easily perform kneeling push-ups doesn’t necessarily mean that they can do any real push-ups.
However, I can promise you from years of experience that if someone can perform 20 reps at a low bar setting; they can definitely bang out a few good reps from the floor.
In the end, this means that your getting stronger. If you’re stronger than you have more muscle. Because muscle is the shape of your body, you will most definitely look better.
By: Nick Tumminello
About the Author:
The director of Performance University, Nick Tumminello is a highly sought after coach and educator in the field of human performance enhancement. He is the developer of the Core Bar™ and has authored numerous best selling DVD’s which can be purchased at www.PerformanceU.net .
Nick also serves as the Strength & Conditioning Coach for Team Ground Control MMA. Nick lives in Baltimore MD where he regularly trains his athletes.
