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BJ Penn pool jump

Earlier today i came across this video of the BJ Penn pool jump. I know he is not the only person to do this but he is definitely one of the very few people who has done it on camera. BJ Penn is obviously in incredible shape and its hard to believe how incredibly strong his legs must be to pull this off. Watching the video, it doesn't seem like anything too special does it? Next time your in the pool, stand close to the edge and try jumping straight out onto the outside. I guarantee you will understand what kind of strength BJ Penn must have in his legs to perform this famous pool jump

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Get big and stay lean (The right way)

Everyone wants to bulk up and at the same time be lean and ripped. Without any knowledge of how to manage getting big and staying or becoming lean, it will seem impossible. In reality it is a very basic process, the main factor for most people I would say is proper caloric intake. Eating enough to bulk up and at the same time weed out the wrong foods that can cause you to gain fat. So for those of you bulking up and trying to become or stay lean, here is the basics and some extra advanced tips you can follow to meet your goal. This will include tips on….

-Eating big

-Lifting big
-Cardio/ Circuit training (cardio alternate)
-Rest


Eat Big:
In order to gain size you must increase your caloric intake. Here is my formula to get a good estimate of how many calories you should be taking in a day. Now, this is not exact, and there are other factors that should be taken into consideration but it is a good number to work around.

Multiply your body weight times 0.22

Example: If you weight 135 pounds, it would look like this.
135 x .22= 29.7 (move the decimal point over two spaces to the right) 2970 calories per day

Now, here is the tricky part. 4000 calories may seem easy to reach; I mean one meal at McDonalds is about 1000 calories when you include a soft drink right? Well, the object is to gain muscle mass and stay lean. With that being said, meals from McDonalds are not going to work. You see, most lean foods are low in carbs, or low in calories period. Therefore you are probably going to eat about 6 times a day. This can be done 100 percent with no supplements but I strongly recommend whey protein. Reason being is this; whey protein contains lots of amino acids and other muscle building ingredients that are hard to find in your average meal. Out of the total amount of your calories per day, 50 percent should be carbs, 30 percent protein, and 20 percent fats. I am not going to break down what good carbs, and good fats are but what I will do is give you a list of simple and effective muscle building foods. These foods either contain good carbs, high protein, or good fats.

Wheat Bread
Wheat Tortillas
Wheat Pasta
Turkey Burgers (Lean)
Turkey Ground Meat (Lean)
Sliced Turkey
Hard Boiled Egg Whites
Peanut Butter
Chicken Breast
Beans
Brown Rice
Fruit
Avocados (Increases Testosterone Levels)

Lifting Big: When lifting to bulk up, the idea is to reach muscular failure. The key is to perform exercises that will force your muscles to grow bigger. How do I know if I am using the right amount of weight to gain size? The best way to know that you are lifting the correct amount of weight to gain size is, using a weight that will not allow you to perform more than 5-8 repetitions. If you are able to do more than 5-8 repetitions, you should add more weight. Here is a list of some “big workouts”. The workouts are very effective when building mass and should be performed regularly to increase muscle mass.

Deadlifts

Bench Press
Pull ups
Squats

Cardio: There are two types of exercise you can perform for fat burn. The first and most common is cardio. It is simple, after your weight lifting routine, hop on a treadmill and power walk for 30-45 minutes. Following your weight lifting routine with cardio should be done on all days that you lift. It is a better idea to keep a speed that does not cause exertion, reason for that is this, once you pass a certain pace you will actually start tapping into the muscle that your body is creating. Keeping at a reasonable pace will target only the fat that you are trying to burn.

Circuit Training: This is not your average fat burning routine, mainly because it is simply a lot harder. Circuit training consists of various exercises performed back to back with about 15 seconds of rest in-between. Circuit training should be performed alone on a separate day. This kind of training will take a lot out of you and will not be done to its full potential if you have burned through your energy with weights. There are hundreds of circuit training routines that are very effective; most routines consist of jumping from machine to machine. Now, if you workout at a public gym this may not be ideal considering other people will be using the equipment. I came across an awesome circuit training routine that makes a lot more sense than most. This routine can be done with one barbell and the same weight for every exercise. This routine will be much more ideal if you are in a gym and cannot jump from machine to machine. Here is a link to this awesome circuit training routine.

Rest: One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to gain muscle is working out too much. You should be working out a maximum of 5 days per week. I recommend just 4 days a week when trying to bulk up and stay lean. Rest is the most important piece of this puzzle, without rest you will never grow. See, your muscles grow while you rest. Just to put it simply, lifting tears the muscle and it heals while you rest; as it heals it grows to avoid being exhausted from another workout. Taking 2-3 days off per week and getting minimum of 8 hours of sleep at night is crucial when building muscle.
Please feel free to contact me at MuscleMonsters@gmail.com
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Get ripped from home - Body weight cardio

What if i told you that you could get ripped without stepping foot in a gym or lifting weights? You probably wouldn't believe me would you? OK well here is the deal, the fact is that it is very possible. There are numerous body weight workout routines that can be done from home with no weights that will burn fat and get you in incredible shape. I did some research and was able to find one body weight cardio workout that i was really impressed with. Now, before i went ahead and posted it, I tried it out for myself. I must say, i was very pleased with the routine. By the 2nd circuit, i was out of breath and felt like i had been working out for over an hour. Considering it was obvious this is an effective plan, i wanted to share it with you all. Enjoy!
Big thanks to Craig for the video!





1.60 Jumping Jacks: Done as fast as possible
2.Spiderman Pushups
3.Walking Lunges
4.Spiderman Climb
5.Wall Squat: Do for 45-60 seconds.
6.Planks: Do for 60 seconds.
7.Burpees
8.High Knees: Done as fast as possible.
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Getting lean with circuit training


So what is the most effective way to burn fat and gain endurance? For a while now it has been popular belief that the answer is cardio. Now, I am not saying cardio is not a great way to burn fat and gain endurance but what if I told you there is a way to accomplish your goal in about half the time? How? The answer is circuit training , circuit training involves following several planned workouts performed back to back with about 15 seconds of rest between sets. You see, there are hundreds of ways to perform circuit training routines, look them up….there is tons. The special thing about the routine I am about to show you is this, instead of jumping from machine to machine, I am going to show you a routine you can do with just a barbell, same weight for every workout and can be performed from the privacy of your own home. Try jumping from machine to machine for circuit training at a gym full of people, not going to work. At least with this circuit training routine you can perform the entire thing in one spot.



The weight of the barbell is going to depend on you. It is going to depend on your fitness level so the first thing you want to do is find the right weight for you. I am going to list a series of exercises; the way this will work is you will perform ten reps of each exercise. Each exercise will be performed one after the other with about 15 seconds of rest in between. Once you have completed the last exercise in the circuit training routine, take a 2-3 minute rest. Then you will start all over again from the beginning; try to do that about 3 times. You will notice that the more you do this circuit training routine, the more times you will be able to perform it. The goal is to work up to the point where you can perform the routine 8 times on a regular basis. Remember, doing regular cardio/endurance training, you will plateau a lot faster than if you were doing circuit training. With that being said, you will see better results faster by doing circuit training.


Circuit training routine


10x Deadlifts
10x Bent over rows
10x Hang Cleans
10x Front squats
10x Push presses
10x Lunges (10 reps each leg, place the barbell on your back)
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Foods that burn belly fat


One huge misconception when trying to burn belly fat is, people think they can do crunches 5 days a week and that is all. They could not be more wrong, the main factor is burning belly fat is proper dieting. Without a proper diet, burning fat will be almost impossible. This is just a quick post i came up with, it is a list of a few foods that will help burn belly fat.

1.Eggs: Very lean and rich in protein

2.Tomatoes: Great source of Vitamins C and A, full of iron and potassium, and contains a large amount of antioxidants.

3.Olive oil: Rich in antioxidants which help fight diseases and the effects of aging.

4.Salmon: Great source of omega 3 fatty acids.

5.Grapefruit: Rich in vitamin C and helps you feel more full by slowing down the digesting process.
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How green tea keeps you healthy


Green Tea has been a popular drink for over 4000 years and has been touted as a health elixir nearly as long. In recent years, however, modern medicine and the scientific community have acknowledged that it can, in fact, relieve or cure many chronic health conditions. How it does this is really not too complicated. There are many healthy ingredients in green tea such as polyphenols, magnesium, calcium, carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, several B vitamins as well as caffeine. The polyphenols, particularly catechins, are the ones that deserve all the attention.



Polyphenols are anti-oxidants that are capable of neutralizing free radicals. So what does all that mean? It's not as complicated as it sounds. Free radicals in the body are created by air pollution, cigarette smoke, drugs, stress, alcohol and pesticides. Essentially they are atoms that have lost an electron and survive by stealing one from a healthy molecule. That molecule then becomes a free radical itself and the chain reaction begins. Free radicals damage cells and can be responsible for the progression of cardiovascular diseases, cancer and many age related ailments.

Catechins are polyphenols unique to green tea and the most powerful of these is called epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG. This powerful anti-oxidant neutralizes free radicals by donating an electron. These are very stable nutrients and therefore do not become free radicals themselves and the chain ends. Many diseases are halted or reversed by this action of stopping the multiplication of free radicals.


One of the most apparent benefits is in dealing with osteoporosis by protecting osteoblasts from destruction by free radicals. Osteoblasts are the cells responsible for building bone. It also inhibits the formation of osteoclasts, the cells that break down bone.
Green tea helps to starve cancer by inhibiting angiogenisis when the cancer causes too many blood vessels to develop.

Drinking green tea can also lower the risk of atherosclerosis by lowering LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and lipid peroxides which are free radicals that damage lipids or fats.
A study published in the July 2004 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine found that among persons consuming green tea regularly for at least one year, the risk of developing high blood pressure was 46% lower among those who drank ½ cup to 2 ½ cups per day and 65% less among those consuming more than 2 ½ cups per day.
It has also been shown to promote fat loss and slow age related decline in brain function.

So, enjoy your tea. But make sure it is from the evergreen type shrub called camellia sinensis. Herbal teas may taste good and make you feel good but they do not have the anti-oxidant power of green tea.

This amazing drink is not a cure-all. If you have a health problem you should learn all you can about it and then take full responsibility for dealing with it. In todays world there is a tremendous amount of information concerning health and wellness; some good and some bad. There is no chronic condition that will not benefit from a nutritious diet, regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle.

Much more information at http://www.vitality-after-60.com/.

I am a 73 year old retired engineer turned free lance writer and researcher. I have done a lot of research on aging, nutrition, exercise and body-mind-spirit connection. I strongly believe that most Americans are complacent about their personal health and put their faith in pharmaceuticals that treat symptoms rather than concentrating on prevention.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Al_Van_Abbema
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