Tag: workout

3 Simple Ideas To Mix Up Your Routine

3 simple ideas to mix up your routine

3 Simple Ideas To Mix Up Your Routine

Every now and then I catch myself stuck in the same routine and my workout starts to get a little boring.  I know this is starting to happen when it gets easy to miss my regular workout.  Recently, I noticed this had happened when I easily talked myself out of going to the gym for almost 2 weeks straight.  Obviously, something needed to change.  So here are 3 simple ideas to mix up your routine from time to time that will add some spice to your workout.  Give them a try, and I’m sure you’ll find some new excitement to your workout as well.

Change your Grip!

This is a small change compared to most of the others you can do, but one way to spice up your workout from time to time is to change the way you’re gripping the bar when doing barbell or machine exercises.  One of my favorite grips is the palm grip.  In fact, I’ve read several articles from fitness trainers and other professional athletes that suggest that on exercises like the bench press, you should only be using a palm grip.

So what is a palm grip?  Let’s use the bench press as an example for the palm grip.  Many of us have been guilty of using a standard grip on this exercise, myself included.  A standard grip would be where you wrap your hand around bar as if you were holding a baseball bat.

If you want a more effective bench press, try not wrapping your thumb around the bar.  You might think that you’ll lose some stability by doing this, but I’ve never had that problem.  You might have to bend your wrist a little more to compensate, or lower the weight just a little bit.  The main benefit to using a palm grip on this type of exercise is that by putting your thumb in this position, you are reducing the amount of effort that your forearms will put into the exercise.  Therefore, your chest and tricep muscles will have to work even harder to do the lift.  Try this, and I’m sure you’ll notice a difference the next time you perform a bench press.

Try Tri-sets!

You’ve probably heard of super sets, where you do two exercise consecutively without resting in between.  Have you ever tried doing three different exercises?  This works extremely well with bicep exercises.  The benefit to doing a triset with a bicep workout, is it allows you to hit the bicep really hard in three different ways.

Here’s an example of a bicep triset: standing barbell curls, hammer curls, reverse barbell curls.  You’ll also notice in this sequence that you have to change your grip with each set of the triset.  This is the best way to utilize a triset.  Here’s an example of a triset with triceps: straight bar cable push downs, rope cable push downs, reverse cable pushdowns.  Again, the key here is to change the grip on each exercise.  Give these a try, and I’m sure you’ll feel a new pump in whatever body part you utilize them with!

Change your Split!

Have you been following the same split routine for two long?  Has your split routine consisted of chest and triceps, back and biceps, or something similar for several months?  Try reversing your split or doing a 5 day split instead of a 3 day split.  Do chest and biceps, back and triceps just to mix it up a little.

These are just a few basic ideas, but its always a good idea to mix up your routine on a continual basis.  That way you can keep your body guessing and growing to adapt to the changes in stress that you place on your muscles.

 

Top 5 Myths About Fitness Exercises

fitness exercisesTop 5 Myths About Fitness Exercises

Ok guys, I want to tackle some big myths about general training and fitness. More specifically: the act of exercising. Here are the top 5 myths I run into pretty frequently:

Myth #1 About Fitness Exercises | Sports are for Pros

This idea applies only in the case of performance sports. The native qualities required for professional sportsmen (speed, skills, specific height, etc.) can only be developed, they can’t be formed by training. As long as the aim of a regular person is not performance, almost all sports can be practiced for keeping the body in a good shape. It’s all about dosing the training you chose, so that the benefits are bigger than wear and tear. Even the sports considered tough can be practiced in a ‘soft’ way (tae-bo, mini-triathlon, jogging, etc.).

Myth #2 About Fitness Exercises | Training is Tiring

This idea is true as long as it refers to consuming all your energy (muscular and hepatic glycogen), but it doesn’t mean that training gets you into that state of exhaustion which would slow down the process of recovery of the body. Even in performance sports, the purpose is to have rather effective than exhausting training, so that the body can get the stimulation necessary to qualitative progress from one training to the next.

Even more than in other sports, in fitness the sportsman is spared overexerting. However, the training must not become ineffective. People can come to the gym tired after a work day and leave relaxed (physically and psychologically) and not more tired. This is extremely useful for people with sedentary jobs, but also for those who make physical effort at work. They could use the training by choosing a type of effort meant to compensate the one involved in their job.

Myth #3 About Fitness Exercises | Training Takes too Long

Again, this idea is true if applied to performance, which can only be obtained by working a lot. But also in this case short and very intense training or training for relaxation and recovery are often performed. In fitness, you can get to 20-minute training, working only super-series of fast exercises, which could involve, directly or indirectly, all the muscles. Anyway, regular training shouldn’t take longer than an hour and a half. Otherwise, the body will get into the catabolic faze, when the cortisone secretions ‘cannibalize’ the muscles.

Myth #4 About Fitness Exercises | Any Type of Exercise is Good For Solving Your Problems

What’s true in this refers to some particular cases like excess of adipose tissue(fat). This tissue can be ‘melted’ by any kind of aerobic exercise (running, cycling, swimming) if this is continued long enough. Even in these cases it was clear that some exercises are more effective than others. There are situations when only a combination of exercises with a certain amount of each, can provide you with the results you expect. More than that, repeating the same exercise all the time can have as a consequence not only losing balance in the antagonist muscles and in the joints involved in training, but also stopping progress or even regressing.

Myth #5 About Fitness Exercises | You’re too Old

No more exercises! This is true only if we refer to extremely demanding efforts (really heavy weights, fast running, jumping, etc.). There are lots of exercises adapted to different ages. Their purpose is to keep and improve health and also to improve physical shape. The development of movement parameters for older people refers especially to muscular and cardio-vascular resistance as well as mobility of the joints. Because the final purpose of training is not preparing for a competition, the exercises can be organized gradually according to their difficulty, eliminating the risk of accidents. Because it’s based on perseverance, fitness can be adapted without problems for older people and even for people suffering from different affections specific to old age.

 

Steps to Enhancing your Fitness Lifestyle

enhancing your fitness lifestyle

5 Steps To Enhancing Your Fitness Lifestyle

I think it’s way easier said than done to keep everything in order each day when it comes to enhancing your fitness lifestyle. Preparation alone takes up hours in the day just so you can turn around and have a step ahead the very next morning you wake up. But in turn, you just end up preparing yourself for the next task or meal or the next day after that, and the revolving circle goes round and round. What happens when the days start to blend together, or your enthusiasm tends to disappear and your energy is nothing short of nonexistent? Being a bodybuilder or a gym rat doesn’t mean you’re immune to days or weeks like this. We’re human, and sometimes we need change to keep the fire burning. I’m a simple man and my simplicity tends to bleed over into many aspects of my life. So I’d like to share some things that will help keep you motivated and ready to get to work when the gym starts calling your name.

Enhancing Your Fitness Lifestyle Step #1 |  Home Away From Home

Using myself as an example; I work at a gym, and I get asked all the time, “you’re here all day long, how do you still stay here and workout after?” The simple answer to that one is: I don’t. Very rarely do I work out at the gym that I train my clients. As many of you may know, being in the same place for a long time can make the simplest of people go stir crazy. If you are a member of a gym that has multiple locations with different equipment, then take advantage of it!

Enhancing Your Fitness Lifestyle Step #2 | Diet Preparation

Sometimes that hardest thing about enhancing your fitness lifestyle isn’t the hour or two that you spend in the gym each day; it’s the remaining 22 hours. We all know the importance that a well-structured diet plays in our fitness results, so the preparation of our food is essential to KEEP this process structured and avoid any dietary setbacks that may occur. A great example of this would be: running out of a specific food you need, and replacing it with something convenient on your way home because time has become an issue.

For some reason, life tends to get crazy and hectic the minute we commit to our diets. For my personal gain, I like to view this as a challenge, instead of just counting the reasons why I won’t be able to stick to my new plan. My advice to you: make time to cook your meals, to go to the grocery store, or to buy your supplements. You’ll only get out what you put in. They don’t call it hard work for nothing. Establishing cooking days or grocery shopping days will give your diet better consistency, and without a doubt, help your mind from going nuts when life starts wearing you down. Enhancing your fitness lifestyle is not easy, but completely worth it.

Enhancing Your Fitness Lifestyle Step #3 | New Routines

I’ll get right to the point: Don’t get caught up in doing the same routine just because it feels the best. Just because it’s Monday doesn’t mean that the bench press is your best friend. Try something new! You must constantly place new resistance and overload on your body for it to adapt and progress to the next level. Try doing back on Monday, or shoulders.

Enhancing Your Fitness Lifestyle Step #4 |   Beware of Overtraining

Sometimes the answer to constant fatigue or lack of interest in your workouts may be right under your nose. BEWARE of the initial signs of overtraining! If your body just seems warn out, or you’re experiencing more fatigue than normal, or your muscles have hit a plateau, you’re most likely overtraining. Other signs include: loosing leanness despite increase exercise, working out hard every single day, restlessness or unable to sleep, your joints or limbs hurt, or lack of appetite.

Enhancing Your Fitness Lifestyle Step #5 | Positive Reinforcement

Don’t be a Debbie-downer. It has been shown in numerous studies that a positive flow of energy or mindset will help keep the body balanced. Undue stress to the body will cause negative effects and even diseases if it continues for a long period of time. Surrounding yourself with positive reinforcements will help keep your motivation high when it’s time to work out. The easiest way for me to get motivated is to watch others succeed. Take this quote from Kai Greene:

“There’s a success that you’re able to walk away from this experience with, and it’s your responsibility to use it effectively. Be encouraged when you see someone else achieve something; make sure you understand what is at the core of their success…. At this moment, I’m encouraging each and every one of you understand that the POWER OF MIND, the power of the ability to make a decision, the power to decide and to be, and tap into my better resources, are at the core of my success today. The portrait of my life that I choose to create is done so by MY MIND. Realize today that you have power, as do we all.”

 

-Mitch Muller

CPT – MindsetFitness.net

Putting Faith in your Workouts

faithPutting Faith In Your Workouts

For those of you who know me on a personal level, my heart’s main focus isn’t set on the gym life that has surrounded my career, but my life that I have given to God and faith in Him.

Now-a-days every gym I’ve come across you have those big power-lifting gym rats that hang out in the corner by the power rack…Ever seen them? Occasionally one will get up from his seat, wrap his calloused hands around the bar, and deadlift 500 lbs until his face is red and his manly groans can be heard through the loudest music in my headphones. The others stand at his sides and yell and curse till the last rep is complete. These tend to be the leaders of the gym in their own minds, but are they leaders that can be looked up to in a Godly perspective? The young kids look in awe and ask for advice, and the regular lifters keep quiet but still wish they were that big…

In these gyms, it is easy to say that the biggest guys are the ones to look up to. And not all of them would be considered bad role models. However in my mind, what truly makes a man a MAN, is not how much weight he can throw around, or how many young kids ask for the “secrets” to his success, but how he presents himself as a man of God; staying humble in the greatest times of achievement and respect.

Not every person that walks in the gym knows Jesus as their Savior, and I’m not saying these people are bad whatsoever, but as young OR experienced lifters, we should look up to those who help us in a way that in pleasing to Christ: Which is why I’m writing this article about faith in the first place!

When was there a time when you saw someone in the gym, young, old, big or small that was reading their Bible before their workout began?? Needless to say I’ve NEVER seen this happen. Not even once. I even lift at a gym located at a church! Doesn’t God ask us as Believers in Him to be unashamed of His Word and to reach those who don’t know Him? In my opinion, this is the BEST way to not only be a shining example of Jesus in our everyday lives, but to also give ALL the glory to him even in our sessions at the gym. If we aim for Jesus to be first place in our lives, wouldn’t that mean we should also set him first in our workouts? Why not!

When this faith-filled approach popped into my mind it was clear as day.

Some days the gym will be packed out, and others you might be the only one there. And there will be times when an excuse might come into your head to skip reading the Bible today; “Oh I’ll just do it when I get home.” Can’t tell you how many times I’ve said that to myself. Shame on me. I know I’m not perfect, but Lord knows I’m forgiven…

So here’s my challenge for you: Give God the opportunity to be the center of your muscle building experience. Whether you’re in the locker room, sitting on the bench, training at home, or in the corner by the power rack with your lifting buddies, ask God to bless your workout and to be a shining example of God’s love to the rest of this world. He will never let you down and that’s a promise.

The very first time I did this I was nervous to see what it would be like. I walked into the gym with my bag in hand filled with all my nutritional vitamins and supplements; sat down in the corner on some step-up benches, pulled out my Bible and started praying. I asked the Lord to fill me with the strength I needed to progress in my training, to let me be a shining example to those around me, and to open my mind to the verses He wanted me to read that day. I opened up to James which is one of my favorite books of the Bible and it read: “24 You see that a man is justified by works and not faith alone…26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

This gave me the confidence I needed and God showed me that putting him first in every aspect of my life, including my lifting sessions would be rewarding. Having faith that God will strengthen you in your workouts will not be enough, but through Works (Reading your Bible and speaking to others about God), you will be blessed I have no doubt.

I know most of you reading this may not have a personal relationship with Jesus, but if you are interested in hearing more about faith then don’t hesitate to send me and email and I will be glad to help out!

Oh and for those of you who need some pumping-up kind of music, I suggest Lacrae, Thousand Foot Krutch, Manafest, or Pillar. GREAT stuff…

Your Trainer in Christ,

– Mitch Muller

CPT – MindsetFitness.net