Friday, December 31, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Exercise Tips - Don't Wait Until After Christmas
There are many forms of exercise, it is a case of choosing the type that is for you. It could be walking, jogging, cycling, gym work, swimming, dancing, team sports, football, netball etc. Whatever you feel would suit you.
If you are 'getting on' a bit, i.e. 50 years or over, it is vital you get a medical check before taking up exercise. The same applies if you haven't exercised for ages, better to be safe than sorry.
It can be hard to get started again so I have given some tips to get back into the habit that should lead to a healthy extended lifetime.
* The best way to keep things going is simply not to stop. Don't have long breaks in exercising or rebuilding the habit will take some effort. Try not to give up at the first sign of trouble.
* Make a commitment to exercise every day even if it is only a brisk walk for just for 20 minutes. Make this a daily point to cover a month. This will give you a good start of the exercise habit.
* If you don't enjoy the exercise you're doing i.e. at the gym, it is going to be very hard to keep it a habit. there are many other way to exercise, so don't give up, just try something different.
* Don't exercise during times where it can easily be pushed aside. Right after work or first thing in the morning are the best times. Lunchtime you may be tempted to miss it if work demands start mounting up.
* Take a friend to join you, it will boost your commitment to the exercise habit.
* You can worry about your weight, amount of laps you run or the amount you can bench press later, just get started.
* Your workout routines should be in a strict, as if your workout times are completely random it will be harder to benefit and see the improvements you are making.
* Use a calender and mark off the days you have exercised, i9t is a very good motivator.
* Exercise can be a great way to relieve stress, it releasing endorphin which will improve your mood. Feeling stressed or tired? Try doing an exercise during these moments.
* Record your exercise, this will encourage you when you see improvements on paper.
* Trying to run 10 miles miles your first session isn't a good way to build a habit. Start of with 1 mile mixing walking and jogging and build it from there.
* Exercise for yourself, not to impress the onlookers, you will overdo it otherwise.
With all this in place, you will reap the benefits and have a head start for the New Year, you'll probably enjoy the festivities more with less worry about calories being put on as you already have worked some off.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Martin_Miller-Yianni |
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Top 10 Bodybuilders With The Greatest Pectoral Development
In both the 1974 and 1975 Mr. Olympia contests, four immortal chest masters Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbu, Serge Nubret and Lou Ferrigno–flexed on the same stage in what were arguably the most pectacular displays in bodybuilding history.
In fact, judging by pectoral size, proportion and details–with a few exceptions–today’s bodybuilding elite have lesser chests than the very best of the ’70s and ’80s. For that reason, only two current competitors made it to our top 10. Present professionals such as Johnnie Jackson and Branch Warren would have made a top 20, but so would lesser knowns from yesteryear such as Josef Grolmus and Tyrone Youngs.
So why were the top chests better in 1974 than in 2010?
In two words: free weights. Many current champs rely on machines for the bulk of their sets, but most of the pecs on our honor roll were built the old-fashioned way–with flat and incline barbell presses, dumbbell flyes and dips. Time has yet to improve on barbells, dumbbells and parallel bars for constructing a thick, powerful, finished chest.
Underappreciated today, Callender won two IFBB pro contests in 1979 and placed fourth at the 1981 Mr. Olympia. His dense pectorals were slashed with fanlike clefts from his sternum to their rounded bottoms, and his keg-sized rib cage added to his nearly unbeatable side chest pose. Callender trained with very high volume, sometimes doing more than 50 sets per workout for chest.
From the front, Serge Nubret had one of the most aesthetically pleasing physiques ever, and his chest was a key factor in this assessment. The man who finished second in the 1973 Mr. Olympia lacked the pec thickness of others in our top 10, and yet his perfectly sculpted chest seemed to have been meticulously carved from marble.
Although Columbu stands only 5’5″, his pecs were not only stupendously thick, but, unlike others of his stature, they were also large from top to bottom and side to side, and they could have looked at home on 6’5″ Lou Ferrigno. Their most unique quality was the unparalleled cleft that segregated the upper region from the rest, as if the upper pecs were separate muscles (they’re not).
Strydom’s pecs were far from the thickest on our list, but their lower and outer perimeters were boldly delineated, and they were perpetually striated. At his best in the late ’80s, his flexed chest resembled two mounds of perfectly aligned spaghetti.
Two big reasons why Coleman will be trying for Sandow number nine on September 30 are his left and right pectorals. Throughout his reign atop the bodybuilding world, few challengers have been able to hang when he puffs up his pecs during side shots or when he induces a flurry of ridges by crunching out most-musculars.
The antithesis to Nubret is Germany’s Ruhl, for there’s nothing artful about Ruhl’s physique. It’s scary big and never more so than when he’s crushing most-musculars and his pecs are redolent of planets colliding.
Currently serving a life sentence in prison for double murder, Fox was once one of the world’s best bodybuilders, finishing fifth in the 1983 Mr. Olympia. His pectorals–perhaps the thickest ever–made one wonder if three sets of pecs were grafted, one on top of the other, onto the originals. Fox built them via high volume, heavy weights and basic movements.
Haney and Coleman share the record of eight Mr. Olympia titles. During his Olympia reign (1984-91), few came close to matching the size, shape and striations of Haney’s chest, and he used his pecs in poses such as the most-muscular, front lat spread and even the front double biceps to distinguish himself from his smaller challengers. Heavy pyramided pressing movements were primarily responsible for his pec size.
With size as the number-one criterion, it’s probable that no one before or since could match the chest of the Incredibly Hulking star at his best. His squarish thick-as-pie pecs and deep broad rib cage helped propel Ferrigno to two Mr. Universe titles (1973-74) while in his early 20s, and they were still tough to top when he returned to the Olympia stage in his early 40s.
There are a multitude of ways to assess Schwarzenegger California governor, superstar actor, business magnate and seven-time Mr. O but in evaluating his chest in the first half of the ’70s, his pecs were thick, broad and proportionately developed from top to bottom.
Author: Greg Merritt from Flex Magazine
References:
More than 30 years later, while assembling this list of the top 10 male chests of all time, it quickly became apparent that, more than any other bodypart, the standards for pectorals have changed the least over the past three decades.
Today’s typical Olympia competitors walk around on legs far superior to those of previous generations, but the top four finishers at the last Mr. O did not possess markedly better chests than the four legends listed above.
In fact, judging by pectoral size, proportion and details–with a few exceptions–today’s bodybuilding elite have lesser chests than the very best of the ’70s and ’80s. For that reason, only two current competitors made it to our top 10. Present professionals such as Johnnie Jackson and Branch Warren would have made a top 20, but so would lesser knowns from yesteryear such as Josef Grolmus and Tyrone Youngs.
So why were the top chests better in 1974 than in 2010?
In two words: free weights. Many current champs rely on machines for the bulk of their sets, but most of the pecs on our honor roll were built the old-fashioned way–with flat and incline barbell presses, dumbbell flyes and dips. Time has yet to improve on barbells, dumbbells and parallel bars for constructing a thick, powerful, finished chest.
10 Roy Callender
Underappreciated today, Callender won two IFBB pro contests in 1979 and placed fourth at the 1981 Mr. Olympia. His dense pectorals were slashed with fanlike clefts from his sternum to their rounded bottoms, and his keg-sized rib cage added to his nearly unbeatable side chest pose. Callender trained with very high volume, sometimes doing more than 50 sets per workout for chest.
9 Serge Nubret
From the front, Serge Nubret had one of the most aesthetically pleasing physiques ever, and his chest was a key factor in this assessment. The man who finished second in the 1973 Mr. Olympia lacked the pec thickness of others in our top 10, and yet his perfectly sculpted chest seemed to have been meticulously carved from marble.
Nubret mostly credits the bench press for his pec development.
8 Franco Columbo
Although Columbu stands only 5’5″, his pecs were not only stupendously thick, but, unlike others of his stature, they were also large from top to bottom and side to side, and they could have looked at home on 6’5″ Lou Ferrigno. Their most unique quality was the unparalleled cleft that segregated the upper region from the rest, as if the upper pecs were separate muscles (they’re not).
The two-time Mr. O (1976, ’81) attributes most of his size to barbell presses (flat and incline) and dips.
7 Gary Strydom
Strydom’s pecs were far from the thickest on our list, but their lower and outer perimeters were boldly delineated, and they were perpetually striated. At his best in the late ’80s, his flexed chest resembled two mounds of perfectly aligned spaghetti.
He utilized moderate volume and repetitions, as well as both compound and isolation exercises.
6 Ronnie Coleman
Two big reasons why Coleman will be trying for Sandow number nine on September 30 are his left and right pectorals. Throughout his reign atop the bodybuilding world, few challengers have been able to hang when he puffs up his pecs during side shots or when he induces a flurry of ridges by crunching out most-musculars.
Coleman goes as heavy as possible for 10-12 reps per set, and he built his chest primarily with barbell and dumbbell presses.
5 Markus Ruhl
The antithesis to Nubret is Germany’s Ruhl, for there’s nothing artful about Ruhl’s physique. It’s scary big and never more so than when he’s crushing most-musculars and his pecs are redolent of planets colliding.
Ruhl, who has won two IFBB pro shows, relies primarily on machine presses in his current chest training.
4 Bertil Fox
Currently serving a life sentence in prison for double murder, Fox was once one of the world’s best bodybuilders, finishing fifth in the 1983 Mr. Olympia. His pectorals–perhaps the thickest ever–made one wonder if three sets of pecs were grafted, one on top of the other, onto the originals. Fox built them via high volume, heavy weights and basic movements.
3 Lee Haney
Haney and Coleman share the record of eight Mr. Olympia titles. During his Olympia reign (1984-91), few came close to matching the size, shape and striations of Haney’s chest, and he used his pecs in poses such as the most-muscular, front lat spread and even the front double biceps to distinguish himself from his smaller challengers. Heavy pyramided pressing movements were primarily responsible for his pec size.
2 Lou Ferrigno
With size as the number-one criterion, it’s probable that no one before or since could match the chest of the Incredibly Hulking star at his best. His squarish thick-as-pie pecs and deep broad rib cage helped propel Ferrigno to two Mr. Universe titles (1973-74) while in his early 20s, and they were still tough to top when he returned to the Olympia stage in his early 40s.
Ferrigno pyramided his presses and stressed his chest from a variety of angles.
1 Arnold Schwarzenegger
There are a multitude of ways to assess Schwarzenegger California governor, superstar actor, business magnate and seven-time Mr. O but in evaluating his chest in the first half of the ’70s, his pecs were thick, broad and proportionately developed from top to bottom.
He favored relatively high volume, low to moderate reps and free-weight basics.
Author: Greg Merritt from Flex Magazine
References:
COPYRIGHT 2010 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning
SOURCE: simplyshredded.com
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
- Sit down on a pull-down machine with a wide bar attached to the top pulley. Make sure that you adjust the knee pad of the machine to fit your height. These pads will prevent your body from being raised by the resistance attached to the bar.
- Grab the bar with the palms facing forward using the prescribed grip. Note on grips: For a wide grip, your hands need to be spaced out at a distance wider than shoulder width. For a medium grip, your hands need to be spaced out at a distance equal to your shoulder width and for a close grip at a distance smaller than your shoulder width.
- As you have both arms extended in front of you holding the bar at the chosen grip width, bring your torso back around 30 degrees or so while creating a curvature on your lower back and sticking your chest out. This is your starting position.
- As you breathe out, bring the bar down until it touches your upper chest by drawing the shoulders and the upper arms down and back. Tip: Concentrate on squeezing the back muscles once you reach the full contracted position. The upper torso should remain stationary and only the arms should move. The forearms should do no other work except for holding the bar; therefore do not try to pull down the bar using the forearms.
- After a second at the contracted position squeezing your shoulder blades together, slowly raise the bar back to the starting position when your arms are fully extended and the lats are fully stretched. Inhale during this portion of the movement.
- Repeat this motion for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
Variations: The behind the neck variation is not recommended as it can be hard on the rotator cuff due to the hyperextension created by bringing the bar behind the neck.
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