Friday, August 30, 2013
Tricep Pushdowns
Hey everyone, please bare with my growing pains as I try and find the best way to add videos and articles so that they are easy to access. I don't want you to have to scroll through all the posts to find something.
Here is a few videos I recently filmed with my wife while training Triceps. Notice the form. Keep your elbows close to your body and the only movement should be from your elbows. If your upper arm is moving past the front of your body, that means you are know involving shoulders into the workout. Not what we want. We are working triceps not shoulders. Any questions or comments please post.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
High Intensity Interval Training
Searching for a new way to add variety to your fitness program while taking it to the next level? High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a cardiorespiratory training method that alternates brief speed and recovery intervals to boost the overall intensity of your workout. HIIT is used by athletes, weekend warriors and everyday exercise enthusiasts to achieve performance goals and improve fitness and well-being.
How does it work?
The majority of endurance workouts, such as walking, running, or stair-climbing-are performed at a moderate intensity, or an exertion level of 5-6 on a scale of 0-10. High-intensity intervals are done at an exertion level of 7 or higher, and are usually sustained for 30 seconds to 3 minutes, but they can be as short as 8-10 seconds or as long as 5 minutes; the higher the intensity, the shorter the speed interval. Recovery intervals are usually equivalent to or longer than the speed intervals.
High-intensity interval training is done at a submaximal level; around 80-95% of maximal aerobic capacity. Sprint interval training (SIT) is a type of high-intensity interval training that pushes beyond this level to 100% or more of maximal aerobic capacity, or an exertion level of 10.
What are the benefits of HIIT?
The payoffs of pushing yourself with HIIT are numerous, and include:
Significantly increased aerobic and anaerobic fitness
Decreased fasting insulin and increased insulin sensitivity
Reduced abdominal and subcutaneous (just under the skin) fat
The amazing thing about HIIT is that it involves a very small total amount of exercise. By including HIIT as part of your exercise program, you can realize outstanding results in a short amount of time, which is good news for busy individuals.
Is HIIT safe?
High-intensity exercise of any type brings with it a higher risk of musculoskeletal injury and cardiac events. But together with healthy subjects, HIIT has been studied as a training method for people with heart disease and congestive heart failure. Under clinical supervision, subjects had been able to tolerate high-intensity intervals without negative effects. Most significantly, they experienced even bigger improvements in cardiovascular function compared to those undergoing continuous moderate-intensity training.
The bottom line? HIIT may or may not be safe for you. Check with your health care provider before adding it to your exercise plan.
How can I get started with HIIT?
Choose an aerobic exercise-like stationary bicycling. Warm up for 5 minutes, and perform just a few alternating speed and recovery intervals; 3-4 of each should be plenty and will give you a feel for it; finish with an easy cool down. Here’s an example:
HIIT protocols vary widely. There’s no one best single way to structure them. Experiment with shorter and longer speed and recovery intervals to find what works best for you.
Gradually work up to 8-10 or more speed intervals, depending on your fitness goals. Keep in mind that the most common mistake made with interval training is making the recovery intervals too short.
Perform HIIT workouts 1-2 times a week at most to reduce your risk of injury. This high-intensity training method is best used periodically for up to 6 weeks or so to enhance regular training rather than as a year-round fitness strategy.
For best results, work with a fitness professional such as myself to create a personalized HIIT training plan. HIIT requires a big, sweaty effort, but if you stick with it, chances are you’ll be rewarded with impressive results.
You can find more details on my training and nutrition by clicking HERE
How does it work?
The majority of endurance workouts, such as walking, running, or stair-climbing-are performed at a moderate intensity, or an exertion level of 5-6 on a scale of 0-10. High-intensity intervals are done at an exertion level of 7 or higher, and are usually sustained for 30 seconds to 3 minutes, but they can be as short as 8-10 seconds or as long as 5 minutes; the higher the intensity, the shorter the speed interval. Recovery intervals are usually equivalent to or longer than the speed intervals.
High-intensity interval training is done at a submaximal level; around 80-95% of maximal aerobic capacity. Sprint interval training (SIT) is a type of high-intensity interval training that pushes beyond this level to 100% or more of maximal aerobic capacity, or an exertion level of 10.
What are the benefits of HIIT?
The payoffs of pushing yourself with HIIT are numerous, and include:
Significantly increased aerobic and anaerobic fitness
Decreased fasting insulin and increased insulin sensitivity
Reduced abdominal and subcutaneous (just under the skin) fat
The amazing thing about HIIT is that it involves a very small total amount of exercise. By including HIIT as part of your exercise program, you can realize outstanding results in a short amount of time, which is good news for busy individuals.
Is HIIT safe?
High-intensity exercise of any type brings with it a higher risk of musculoskeletal injury and cardiac events. But together with healthy subjects, HIIT has been studied as a training method for people with heart disease and congestive heart failure. Under clinical supervision, subjects had been able to tolerate high-intensity intervals without negative effects. Most significantly, they experienced even bigger improvements in cardiovascular function compared to those undergoing continuous moderate-intensity training.
The bottom line? HIIT may or may not be safe for you. Check with your health care provider before adding it to your exercise plan.
How can I get started with HIIT?
Choose an aerobic exercise-like stationary bicycling. Warm up for 5 minutes, and perform just a few alternating speed and recovery intervals; 3-4 of each should be plenty and will give you a feel for it; finish with an easy cool down. Here’s an example:
| Time | Interval | Exertion Level (0-10) | |||
| 5 min. | Warm-up | 3–4 | |||
| 1 min. | Speed | 7–9 | |||
| 2 min. | Recovery | 5–6 | |||
| 1 min. | Speed | 7–9 | |||
| 2 min | Recovery | 5–6 | |||
| 1 min. | Speed | 7–9 | |||
| 2 min | Recovery | 5–6 | |||
| 1 min. | Speed | 7–9 | |||
| 5 min | Cool-down | 3–4 | |||
| 22 min. Total Time | |||||
| (4 min. total speed) | |||||
HIIT protocols vary widely. There’s no one best single way to structure them. Experiment with shorter and longer speed and recovery intervals to find what works best for you.
Gradually work up to 8-10 or more speed intervals, depending on your fitness goals. Keep in mind that the most common mistake made with interval training is making the recovery intervals too short.
Perform HIIT workouts 1-2 times a week at most to reduce your risk of injury. This high-intensity training method is best used periodically for up to 6 weeks or so to enhance regular training rather than as a year-round fitness strategy.
For best results, work with a fitness professional such as myself to create a personalized HIIT training plan. HIIT requires a big, sweaty effort, but if you stick with it, chances are you’ll be rewarded with impressive results.
You can find more details on my training and nutrition by clicking HERE
Monday, August 26, 2013
My First Post
Hi everyone and welcome to my training blog. I've been getting tons of questions from people on Facebook after I made the top 5 in the Masters Nationals last month. I guess people finally realized, hey, I do know a little something about training, diet and competing. So for those of you that have no clue who I am, and you shouldn't really unless you follow NPC Bodybuilding, I've been into the training, eating right and taking care of my body for the past 25 plus years. I'm just about 52 years old. I've got 2 more weeks to go and I might add I'm pretty much in the best shape of my life. I've seen fad diets come and go, I've seen bodybuilders grow by leaps and bounds. So I guess I'm just trying to say, I've been around.
I started competing in 1995 as a lightwewight, slowly worked my way up to the middleweight class not knowing at the time it was one of the most competitive classes in the NPC. Anyway I was never quite on target with my timing as I always placed in the top 5 but never (until recently) could win the class. I competed until 2000, that is the year my wife and I won the Mixed Pairs class. We had both had enough of the politics and dieting so we retired, or so we thought anyway. Almost 2 years ago in October 2011 my wife and I were introduced to a company named ViSalus. At first we mainly were just trying to help someone out and knowing I would spend money on those types of products anyway made it a easy decision to get involved. We did nothing with the business but drink the shakes and take the other products. One day I noticed that my abs were showing, which at that point they were pretty much noexistent and just being overjoyed. It had been almost 12 years since I think I saw them last. That's right I had allowed myself to be just like everyone else and was fat and out of shape. But seeing my abs just even a bit was enough for me to take ViSalus seriously. I was now on a mission to get back into my contest shape and compete. Since then I have placed 2nd, won 2 National Qualifiers, 1 class and the other overall and I placed in the top 5 at the Masters Nationals this year. That in itself is an accomplishment, those that have competed at that level, know what I'm talking about. So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. So whats your story?
This blog is for all those that are always asking questions about different exercises and what works what muscle. I will be using others videos as i just don't have the time to make my own, although you will see some but I will use others videos as long as i think they pass my judgement. I love comments, lets me interact a bit with people, which I like so please leave a comment. I can take constructive critisism but please be cordial about it. I will say this because I want it to be perfectly clear that I am a Vislaus Distributor. I am not trying to mislead anyone. Just saw a need to educate and help some people get healthy on their own, without having to hire me or any other trainer. Now that that is out of the way. Let's get cranking. I post some vids shortly. I have some older things of myself training. As I see the need I will have my wife file and I will demonstrate the exercise.
If anyone is interested in ViSalus information, you can find it here http://stevemedina.myvi.net
I started competing in 1995 as a lightwewight, slowly worked my way up to the middleweight class not knowing at the time it was one of the most competitive classes in the NPC. Anyway I was never quite on target with my timing as I always placed in the top 5 but never (until recently) could win the class. I competed until 2000, that is the year my wife and I won the Mixed Pairs class. We had both had enough of the politics and dieting so we retired, or so we thought anyway. Almost 2 years ago in October 2011 my wife and I were introduced to a company named ViSalus. At first we mainly were just trying to help someone out and knowing I would spend money on those types of products anyway made it a easy decision to get involved. We did nothing with the business but drink the shakes and take the other products. One day I noticed that my abs were showing, which at that point they were pretty much noexistent and just being overjoyed. It had been almost 12 years since I think I saw them last. That's right I had allowed myself to be just like everyone else and was fat and out of shape. But seeing my abs just even a bit was enough for me to take ViSalus seriously. I was now on a mission to get back into my contest shape and compete. Since then I have placed 2nd, won 2 National Qualifiers, 1 class and the other overall and I placed in the top 5 at the Masters Nationals this year. That in itself is an accomplishment, those that have competed at that level, know what I'm talking about. So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. So whats your story?
This blog is for all those that are always asking questions about different exercises and what works what muscle. I will be using others videos as i just don't have the time to make my own, although you will see some but I will use others videos as long as i think they pass my judgement. I love comments, lets me interact a bit with people, which I like so please leave a comment. I can take constructive critisism but please be cordial about it. I will say this because I want it to be perfectly clear that I am a Vislaus Distributor. I am not trying to mislead anyone. Just saw a need to educate and help some people get healthy on their own, without having to hire me or any other trainer. Now that that is out of the way. Let's get cranking. I post some vids shortly. I have some older things of myself training. As I see the need I will have my wife file and I will demonstrate the exercise.
If anyone is interested in ViSalus information, you can find it here http://stevemedina.myvi.net
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