Posts Tagged ‘Effective’

10
February

Most Effective Core Strength Exercises

exercise

I am sure you’ve seen the Rocky Movies and also the crazy core strength exercises he is doing. Well The set of exercises in this article are going to go in an a lot various direction. They will not be as awesome as hanging from the rafters in an old barn but they will be more effective. Core exercises for men don’t have to look flashy to do the job.

But prior to I can get into the different core strength exercises I think it is essential to understand what core strength is and how your abs function. Ask 10 different people what the very best core strength exercises are and you probably get 10 different answers. Everyone appears to have a differing concept when it comes to training abs.

I’m certain you’ve heard all of the various answers.

Powerlifters just take a look at you and laugh whenever you mention the word core work. Their response, just stick with heavy squats and deadlifts.

Functional training was the craze for an although, and those guys scoffed at any ab exercise that had you lying on the ground. They would say it is impossible to do core strength exercises on the ground simply because that’s not how we move in our every day lives.

The old-school lifters and bodybuilders tell you, stick with situps with and hanging leg raises, after all that work for Rocky.

When preaching about core exercises the initial thing that comes to numerous people’s minds are flexion exercises like situps and crunches, the typical 6 pack exercises. But there is much more to your core then a set of great abs.

An effective core strengthening routine doesn’t only target abdomen development but also looks at the oblique exercises and back. These muscles all work together to create a strong midsection and your core strength exercises have to take that into account.

Contrary to what numerous people believe core strength isn’t measured by how many situps or crunches you are able to do. Core strength is the capability of your midsection to resist motion. Utilizing such a definition has a major impact on what exercises are essential to strengthen your core.

The list of muscles that make up your core is somewhat arbitrary and different fitness experts think about various muscles. Probably the most broad term consists of the muscles that run the length of the trunk and torso; and when they contract they stabilize the spine, pelvis, and shoulder girdle to produce a solid base of support. That strong base of support allows us to generate powerful movements with our legs and arms. Like Rocky throwing his knockout punches.
Core Strength Exercises

There lots of various core exercises for men and women to strengthening your midsection, but I am going to limit the list to what I believe to be the very best core exercise. Because this exercise is so difficult I will list a couple of core muscle exercises which will allow you to strengthen your abdominal area and progress in exercise difficulty.
Ab Wheel Roll Outs For Strong Core Muscles

This may be the best you ever invest. An ab wheel is an expense but possibly the most effective ab training device there is. This simple piece of equipment has been around for a minimum of 50 years, and in that time there has been little if any changes. Hands down this has to be on the top of the list when it comes to core strength exercises.

Ab wheel roll outs are very challenging and will not be the place you would like to begin. I will list the progression of core strengthening exercises for you to go via which will permit you to progress to the rollout.
Core Strength Exercise Progression One

Front planks, occasionally referred to as the front pillar is an outstanding location to start your progression. The plank is a static contraction core exercise that places a great deal of stress on the muscles of your midsection, specifically the abdominals and hip flexors.
How you can Do The Front Plank Exercise

The front plank, or front pillar is a straightforward, yet effective core strength exercise. The most fundamental plank version is really a straight arm plank. Essentially this exercise is a static hold within the top of a push-up position. For added feedback and to ensure proper alignment you are able to use a wooden dowel. At all times to dowel is to remain in contact with your head shoulder blades and tailbone. It rolls off or wobbles you lost your ideal alignment.

Once you can hold this for 30 seconds, progress to the next level. To improve difficulty merely move from your hands to your elbows and hold that position on the floor. Once more when she can maintain a perfect elbow plank for 30 seconds move to the next step.

As with any exercise the plank too has progressions and variations. Some choices you have:

* lift one foot 1′ off the floor, you are able to hold it or alternate from leg to leg.

* hold 1 arm straight out, again you are able to alternate the extended arm or hold it.

* support your self on 1 foot and 1 hand.

* you can also elevate your feet, on a ball, on a box, in blast straps, anything will do.

* another challenging version would be to place your feet on the wall and slowly march.

core strength exercises side plank

Side Plank – core strength exercises

To target the obliques much more be sure to do side plank variations too. Try them both static and dynamic.

All of these plank variations improve the difficulty and add variation to the exercise giving you much more core strength exercises to select from.

The objective of the plank exercise would be to maintain an ideal posture for two minutes. Once you are able to hold the basic elbows on the floor plank position for that time, move on to the next progression.
Core Strength Exercise Progression Two
Stability Ball Rollouts

A stability ball is a lot like a wheel, but a lot larger making the exercise simpler. To change the difficulty of this exercise decrease the size of the ball. The smaller the ball the more challenging and challenging the rollout becomes.

Using a Swiss ball to work your core consists of much much more lat activation then a static plank.
Core strength exercises Swiss ball roll out

Core strength exercises Swiss ball roll out
How you can Do Stability Ball Roll Outs

Kneel in front of the ball with your hands in the center of the ball. With arms extended roll out as far as you can with ideal form. Pause for a full second then return to the begin position.

The objective of this exercise is the exact same as the plank, maintain a neutral spine throughout the movement.

As I mentioned prior to, to increase the difficulty of this exercise your head is going to get closer and closer towards the ground. Stability balls only get so little so the next progression down could be to do the barbell rollout. Ideally you would have bumper plates to make certain the bar as high as feasible off the ground without having to add 45 plate to the bar.

The execution of the movement is the exact same as the Swiss ball roll out.
Core Strength Exercise Ab Wheel Roll Outs

core strength exercises ab wheelThis is an very challenging core exercise so be certain you gone to the progressions prior to you tackle this movement.

The execution of the ab wheel roll out is comparable to a stability ball roll.

* Start by tucking your hips underneath you to flatten out your back.

* Squeeze your abs to ensure editing is held in location

* Now that you’re nice and tight merely extend your body by rolling out.

* Now return to the starting position.

That’s all there’s to it. You’ve just completed 1 of the very best core strength exercises.

If you are unable to maintain a flat back, even the slightest arch is unacceptable,you’ve progressed to quickly, you need to take it a step back.

The ab wheel progression would look like this:

from your knees.

roll up an incline.

and finally, from your feet.

Conclusion

As you are able to see having strong abs and midsection is not about how much weight you are able to move and core strength exercises don’t have to involve movement. A strong core is able to resist motion. The goal of core stability would be to maintain a solid, foundation and transfer energy from the center of the body out to the limbs. Have a healthy diet, the ability to do ab wheel roll outs and you’ll have fantastic searching abs. Endless amounts of situps and crunches are not required nor are they recommend. I have outlined three core strength exercises and progressions for each one.

Be sure to begin with planks and experiment with all of the various variations. Only after you have become proficient with planks is it time to move to the stability ball rolling. Once more make certain that these are ideal before thinking about moving on to the king of core strength exercises.

Ab wheel rollouts are by far the most difficult core movement there is, so be certain to take it slow and progress wisely.

Incorporate these core strength exercises into your workout program and you’ll be well on your method to having fantastic abs.
Core strength exercises

1. plank
2. ball roll out
3. ab wheel roll out

30
October

The One Arm Military Press – “Old School” but Effective

So I have recently been toying around with the one arm military press. I train shoulders twice per week and I now include heavy one arm military presses every other shoulder workout. This started by accident a little over a month ago. I was planning to do some seated dumbbell military presses, but all the benches were taken. I grabbed a set of dumbbells and decided to do just one arm at a time standing (an exercise I've never included as part of my routine). It felt pretty awkward the first set, but really engaged my triceps. By the 3rd set I was hooked! This creates a much different feel in the shoulders than doing seated dumbbell presses. After just 4-5 weeks of using this lift all of my weights in my pressing movements have shot up. No wonder this was such a popular exercise back in the early 1900's.

Read more on The One Arm Military Press – "Old School" but Effective…

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Tags: Strength Training, dumbbell presses, irradiation, military press, Pavel Tsatsouline, power to the people

4
September

Are Brief Workouts Effective for Fat Loss as You Get Older?

There is something to be said for brief workouts. Back in the 80's, when I joined my first gym, it was common for workouts to last over 90 minutes. In college I would train up to 2 hours per day with a group of friends. We would spend 90 minutes lifting and 30 minutes on cardio. The routine was "3 days on and 1 day off". Although that was WAY too much time in the gym, each of us was in great condition. With that much time sweating and burning calories, it was bound to work. The problem was that our workouts weren't time efficient. With a few less beers per week and less calories, we could have got the same results with about 1/2 the amount of time spent in the gym. In fact, with enough intensity and with a proper diet I believe I could have maintained a low body fat percentage just training a few times per week. Although a few intense brief workouts are enough for a 20 year old to stay ripped, I believe the rules are different for a 40 year old.

Brief Workouts

[The time element of training is rarely discussed. Usually it is just assumed that less time training is better. If you are in your mid 30's or older, I think you might need to question this assumption.]

Raging Hormones, High Metabolism, and "Naturally Active"…

This past August, I spent the majority of the month on a West Coast road trip (one of the reasons I haven't posted in a while). About a week into our road trip we reached Huntington Beach, CA. This is one of California's prime surf beaches. Anyway, one thing I noticed was how the majority of the young surfers were lean and fit just as a natural result of their circumstances. Not only did these young surfers have higher levels of HGH than the older people on the beach, they were out in the water for 4-6 hours at a time. No wonder why they were in such outstanding shape. This isn't a big breakthrough or anything, but it made me think more about age and fitness.

Why Are Young People Typically Lean Without Trying?

I know this is a generalization, but people in their early 20's are typically lean with very little effort. On our road trip, we stayed in Sedona, AZ for a few days and went to a cliff diving spot called "Grasshopper Point". There was a group of college kids chugging beer and then doing crazy flips off of some pretty darn high cliffs. With only 1-2 exceptions all of these young people were in outstanding condition. You could tell they probably did a bit of training, but staying lean was probably as easy deal for them. Again, not a huge discovery or anything, it just made me think about age and fat loss a bit more.

Grasshopper Point

[Grasshopper Point is an amazing swimming hole. On one side of the river is a beach and the other side is a steep cliff. You swim across, climb up as high as you want up the red colored cliffs, and simply jump back into the water. A perfect summer day!]

Let's Discuss What Young People Have in Their Favor

So I am going to generalize a lot here. We have all seen overweight teens and naturally lean 50 year old's. I'm talking about averages here.

1) More Natural Physical Activity Each Week:

I will use myself as an example. Back in college I didn't have a car and walked everywhere. Heck, just walking to and from class took up over an hour of my day, 5 days a week. In addition to that, I would play volleyball or pickup basketball 2-3 times per week for 1-2 hours at a time. I would estimate that I spent 8-9 hours per week of exercise outside of my gym workouts. These days I'm lucky to get in 2 hours per week of exercise outside of my gym workouts. So 7 more hours of activity per week, even at a low intensity level, is significant. Now wonder it was a breeze to stay lean back then!

2) High HGH Levels

Young people are fat burning machines compared to their older counterparts. A big reason for this is the high levels of HGH in younger folk. HGH is a natural fat burning hormone and declines as one ages. Exercise can slow down this decline, but can't stop it from happening completely. Not only are the normal HGH levels higher in young people, my belief is that the "HGH response" to a workout is greater in younger people as well (not proven by a scientific study as far as I know, just a belief of mine based on experience).

3) A Higher Metabolism

The combination of being more active and producing more HGH typically means younger folk are burning more calories even when they aren't active. The average 20 year old also has more lean muscle than the average 40 year old and this helps a bit as well. No matter how you look at it, the typical 20 year old is burning more calories day to day than the average 40 year old. Whether it is attributed to hormones, muscle mass, activity, etc…it all adds up to more calories being burned over the course of a day by a 20 year old compared to a 40 year old.


[San Francisco is one of the coolest cities I've ever been to. I could easily see living here. A big city in an amazing location.]

Let's Examine if LESS Time Training is What You Need

I like the idea of brief and intense workouts, but is that going to get the job done? If you are over 30 and struggling to get as lean as you were in your teens and 20's, it could be that you simply aren't active enough each week. Is training less the smartest approach to dropping that excess body fat? In my opinion there is a very good possibility that you need to spend a little bit more time in the gym, not less…especially if you aren't as active as you were in your younger days.

You Can Only Diet So Hard Before You Are Starving Yourself

I do believe that diet is the first thing to look at when you are trying to get lean, but there is a lower limit. If you cut back the calories too far, you will become malnourished. It is okay to eat slightly less than maintenance levels, but much lower than that for long periods of time is a terrible strategy. When reducing calories there is a lower limit. Even if you still need to lose body fat, it isn't wise to go far below this lower limit for long periods of time.

There is An Upper Limit to Workout Intensity

If you perform too many intense workouts per week, you will over-train. You will break your body down at a faster rate than it can repair itself. To be honest, even a few ultra intense workouts per week can result in over-training. There is an upper limit to intensity that can't be breached, even if you still have a lot of fat to lose.

Redline

["Redlining" is a term I like to use when someone is eating below maintenance level calories and training intensely, but is unable to lose any more weight.]

When You Reach the Limits of Diet and Workout Intensity?

What variable can you adjust if you are at your limits with diet and workout intensity? You can adjust the amount of time you train. This is logical, but it isn't discussed much. If you are stuck at a certain body weight, simply add in 30-90 minutes per week to your training and you will lose weight again. This has to be lower intensity training, if you are close to your upper limits already in terms of training intensity.

Why Cardio Is a Potent Tool for Fat Loss, In My Opinion

Cardio, whether it means walking outside or on a treadmill, is the perfect way to add in more activity without over-training. I like body weight circuits and HIIT and other versions of intense intervals, but there is a limit to how much I can do before I over-train. If I am still not losing as much body fat as I would like, I can't simply increase the intensity or I will burn out. What I can do is extend the amount of time I do steady state cardio after I do HIIT, or I can add in walking for 1-2 hours per week.

What Training in the 80's Taught Me

The big thing in the 80's was to bulk up in the winter and cut down right before summer. I don't think this is a great strategy, but it taught me quite a bit about dropping body fat. One thing I learned about fat loss was, given enough time on the treadmill or exercise bike and you can get as lean as you desire. This was before HIIT was known by the fitness community. Back then you would do steady state cardio for an hour per day, while eating a low fat diet to get extremely lean. It wasn't time efficient, but it worked. I even read about bodybuilders who would walk on a treadmill an hour in the morning and an hour at night to reach ultra-low body fat levels.

Weird Science

Steady State Cardio is the Great Equalizer

Unlike the 80's, I don't think it is smart to use steady state cardio as your main method of losing body fat. It simply isn't as time efficient as HIIT or other form of interval training. What I am saying is that if you are dieting properly and doing brief intense training along with HIIT, then it makes sense to add in lower intensity steady state cardio. Steady state cardio is one way a 40 year old can get as lean as a 20 year old. Steady state cardio will make up for the fact that you are less active and your HGH levels aren't as high, etc…this is why I call it the great equalizer. It is the ideal supplementary exercise to give that small extra push needed to burn off that little bit of stubborn body fat that many can't seem to lose when they get older.

If You Are Training Hard, But Are Stuck at a Certain Weight

So if you are training hard already and your diet is dialed in, then my advice is to train a little more than you are training now. It doesn't have to be time spent in the gym…it could be walking 2-3 times per week, in addition to what you are doing now. Another approach is to just add 15 more minutes of steady state cardio to what you are doing now. Again, make sure you get everything optimum and as time efficient as possible before adding in additional steady state cardio. The goal isn't to live in the gym or train non-stop. It is to get in shape.

Note: Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I had good intentions of getting posts done before my road trip, but ran out of time. Has a blast. I highly recommend Sedona as well as Huntington, for a full blown vacation. As far as places to live, San Francisco looked outstanding and hard to beat.

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Tags: Body Fat

23
May

Functionalized Mesoporous Silica Shown Effective in Delivering Antibodies to Tumors

Researchers from University of Washington and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed silica cages that can help deliver anti-cancer antibodies to tumors. Scientists have also shown that their technique can prolong life span of mice with cancer. The silica structure permits the slow and regular release of antibodies, which may one day help oncologists deliver treatment in a controlled fashion.

Packaging antibodies into particles would concentrate them at the tumor and possibly reduce side effects. Other research has shown silicon to be well tolerated by cells, animals and people. So, in collaboration with tumor biologist Karl Erik Hellstrom’s group at UW, the scientists explored particles made from material called mesoporous silica against cancer in mice.

In previous work, the team created particles that contain nano-sized hexagonal pores that hold antibodies, enzymes or other proteins. In addition, adorning the silica pores with small chemical groups helps trap proteins inside. But not permanently — these proteins slowly leak out like a time-release capsule.

The researchers wanted to test whether anti-cancer antibodies packaged in modified mesoporous silica would be more effective against tumors than free-flowing antibodies.

To do so, they first chemically modified mesoporous silica particles of about six to 12 micrometers (about 1/10 the diameter of human hair). These particles contained pores of about 30 nanometers in diameter. They found that the extent and choice of chemical modification — amine, carboxylic acid or sulfonic acid groups — determined how fast the antibodies leaked out, a property that can be exploited to fine tune particles to different drugs.

Additional biochemical tests showed that the antibodies released from the silica cages appeared to be structurally sound and worked properly.

They then tested the particles in mouse tumors at UW, filling them with an antibody called anti-CTLA4 that fights many cancers, including melanoma, a skin cancer. The team injected these packaged antibodies into mouse tumors. The team also injected antibodies alone or empty particles in other mouse tumors.

The packaged antibodies slowed the growth of tumors the best. Treatment started when tumors were about 27 cubic millimeters. Untreated tumors grew to 200 cubic millimeters about 5 days post-treatment. Tumors treated with antibodies alone reached 200 cubic millimeters on day 9, showing that antibodies do slow tumor growth. But tumors treated with packaged antibodies didn’t reach 200 cubic millimeters until day 30, a significant improvement over antibodies alone.

The team repeated the experiment and found the treatment also prolonged the lives of diseased mice. Of five mice that had been treated with particles alone, all died within 21 days after treatment. But of five mice treated with the packaged antibodies, three were still alive at 21 days, and two at 34 days, when the experiment ended.

The team also measured how much antibody remained in the tumors. Two and four days after injection, the researchers found significantly more antibody in tumors when the antibodies had been encased in the silica particles than when the antibodies had been injected alone.

Press release: Silica cages help anti-cancer antibodies kill tumors in mice…

Abstract in Journal of The American Chemical Society: Local Release of Highly Loaded Antibodies from Functionalized Nanoporous Support for Cancer Immunotherapy