Thursday, August 25, 2011

Six Pack Abs

Everyone is looking for the secret to six pack abs.  The truth is, everyone is born with six pack abs, but some people choose not to show them off.   I don't mean they choose to conceal their six pack abs with clothes; they choose to conceal their six pack abs with a layer of fat.  Sometimes people choose to conceal their abs with several layers of fat.

As you can see from the picture, the rectus abdominis is a large muscle that extends from the pubis to the rib cage.  The rectus abdominis is divided into smaller sections by a tendinous intersection.  It is these smaller divisions that give the appearance of six pack abs.

Furthermore, there is no such thing as spot reduction so the best thing you can do to reveal your six pack abs is diet and cardio.  Many people falsely believe that doing hundred....even thousands....of sit-ups per day will produce six pack abs.

In summary, one should do sit-ups and other ab exercises for core strength; BUT, you and your clients should eat healthy and start/continue a cardiovascular exercise program to show off those abs!!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Rest Between Workouts

Each muscle requires a certain amount of time to recover and rebuild.  The amount of rest needed depends on the intensity of the workout.  A heavy workout would require at least 72 hours of recovery.  If your muscles are still sore after 72 hours, you may need additional rest.  A heavy workout with some eccentric training causes more soreness referred to as DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) than any other type of workout.

A more moderate workout will require about 48 hours of recovery time while a light workout requires at least 24 hours of recovery time.  The most important thing to remember is listen to your body.  Your body will tell you if you had a light, moderate, or heavy workout.

Of course, any workout for a beginner may seem like a moderate to high intensity workout.  Therefore, beginners should initially workout 1 to 2 times per week and rest 2 to 3 days between workouts.  Once a person becomes more advanced, resistance training workouts can increase to 3 to 5 times per week.

Exercise and diet are important.  Sometimes, they can produce all the benefits of medicine without any of the side effects.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Rest Periods

How much rest do you need between sets?  Very few people actually time their rest periods.  Most people  just guess or start the next set when they feel rested.  But recently, studies have shown that there is actually more science involved than we actually first believed.  The amount of (or lack of) blood lactate concentration dictates the physiological changes in the muscle.

For increases muscular endurance, you should rest about 30 seconds between sets.  Also, circuit training or boot camps are similar to this style: lots of work and very little rest.

On the other hand, if your training goal is hypertrophy (an increase in the size of a muscle), then resting 60 to 90 seconds would be optimum.  Multiple sets of the same exercise along with 2 or more exercises targeting the same muscle group will effectively produce hypertrophy.

Finally, a training goal of strength/power would require even more rest.  It normally takes 3 to 5 minutes for complete ATP restoration so that is about the time you should rest between sets if strength/power is your goal.

As with all exercise, beginners should exercise with caution.  Always listen to your body and take some extra time if necessary.  Happy lifting!!