2010 April | Home Gym Equipment for You

April 30, 2010

Home Gym Equipment Tips to Transform Your Life—Part 18

Strength Training: Other gems, part 3

Dips—Dips are a great upper body exercise if you don’t have shoulder problems. Make sure you bend the elbows just past parallel. No high dips. When you can properly complete 5 sets of 15 reps with just bodyweight, add a dumbbell between your feet or strap a weight on with a special belt made for adding weight and continue with 5 sets of 10-15 reps.

If you cannot perform a dip, use the foot on a chair method as discussed with chins. Everyone who can do this exercise (those without injury), should do it as it stresses most of the upper body.

Dumbbell Row—I chose dumbbell row over barbell row due to the strain a barbell row can put on the lower back. It is a good exercise, but dumbbell row is safer and just as effective.

Put your knee on a bench, stabilize with your arm, grab the dumbbell from the floor, drift the dumbbell forward about 2 inches (this sets up the proper angle for this lift), and pull the dumbbell to your hip. This angle hits more of your lats. A higher angle is not wrong for building upper back, but is many times done with wrong form and utilizes more arm than back. Stick with pulling to your hip.

-Dr. Mark Mylan
Creating fit and healthy bodies with home gym equipment
www.healthyhomegym.com

Comments (0)

April 29, 2010

April 28, 2010

April 27, 2010

Home Gym Equipment Tips to Transform Your Life—Part 15

Filed under: Home gym equipment — Tags: benefits of physical fitness, cardiovascular fitness, components of fitness, fitness nutrition, fitness women, good physical fitness, Home gym equipment, muscle fitness — info @ 12:30 pm

Chin ups:

Chin ups are one of the most important upper body exercises you can do. This exercise trains the upper back and arms. Many people ask if you should do chin ups or pull ups and how far apart should your hands be, and which grip is best, and etc., etc., etc.

The answer is to do all of the above. Simply, grab a bar and pull your body above it with as many different grips as you can. This will hit the many different muscles of your upper back and arms at different angles which will lead to a more developed upper body.

There are a few rules for doing chin ups. Don’t jerk your body when you’re tired. Always maintain control. Do as many chin ups with a still body and then use a foot on a chair to help push your body up to complete the set for the desired amount of repetitions. (Note: if you can’t do a chin up, use the foot on a chair to help pull you up from the beginning. This is a much more efficient exercise then doing lat pulls.)

Don’t do chin ups behind your head. This is poor form and can lead to injury. Invest in wrist straps if your grip is weak, but don’t rely on these if you can help it. Work the different grips in order to improve your entire upper body strength.

The beauty of chin ups is that it will not beat up your body. Bodyweight exercises are much easier on the body than lifting weights. The problem is that most people don’t do chin ups or don’t do nearly enough of them because they think they can’t. Use the foot on the chair technique to build a strong back and help with all your other strength training.

-Dr. Mark Mylan
Creating fit and healthy bodies with home gym equipment
www.healthyhomegym.com

Comments (0)

April 26, 2010

Home Gym Equipment Tips to Transform Your Life—Part 14

Filed under: Home gym equipment — Tags: components of physical fitness, exercise and fitness, fitness training, fitness workouts, health fitness, Home gym equipment, importance of physical fitness, lifetime fitness — info @ 12:30 pm

Standing shoulder press:

Standing shoulder press will train chest, shoulders and triceps. Use a squat rack for this exercise. If you perform the shoulder press while sitting, it will unnecessarily load the spine and can lead to injury. Also, you have more control of your balance when performing this exercise standing.

Start by unracking the weight in front of your body. The bar will rest on the uppermost part of your chest. Place your elbows at approximately 45 degrees to your sides. As with the bench press, you want every part of your body tight. If your elbows are at 90 degrees to your sides, it will leave your shoulder joints loose and prone to injury. Press the bar above your head to full lockout, pause, and return the bar to below your chin. Always maintain control of the bar at the top position and the bottom position to ensure stability and avoid injury.

There are a few things that should never occur with this exercise. Do not press from behind your neck. You will injure your shoulders. Do not press with your elbows at 90 degrees to your body. As I’ve already mentioned, this can loosen your shoulder joints. Do not lower the bar to anywhere above your chin. This usually means you are using too much weight and can’t maintain proper form. Finally, do not use your legs in this exercise to push the weight up. This is cheating and also means you’re using too much weight.

-Dr. Mark Mylan
Creating fit and healthy bodies with home gym equipment
www.healthyhomegym.com

Comments (0)

April 25, 2010

Home Gym Equipment Tips to Transform Your Life—Part 13

Filed under: Home gym equipment — Tags: fitness, fitness tips, fitness woman, Home gym equipment, home gym exercise equipment, home gym fitness equipment, home gym pics, physical fitness — info @ 12:30 pm

The Bench Press:

The bench press is an exercise that will train chest, shoulders and triceps. It is also an exercise that can easily cause shoulder injuries if not done properly. The main thing to focus on with the bench press is to keep your entire body tight. This will help prevent injury.

To set up, the first thing you need is a firm base. So, make sure your feet are planted firmly on the floor. No feet on the bench or bouncing on your toes. Next, keep your butt on the bench, arch your back as high as you can, squeeze your shoulder blades together, and firmly place the majority of your bodyweight on your shoulder blades against the bench.

Now, grab the bar at shoulder width and squeeze as hard as you can. At the same time, imagine that you could pull the bar apart into two pieces. This may seem silly, but what this will do is keep your upper body tight and help avoid injury. To unrack the bar, take a deep breath and hold, pull the bar out from the rack firmly while keeping your entire body tight.

Do not “bounce the bar” or loosen your upper body before performing your first repetition. This can take you out of position and lead to injury. Hold the bar for a second to ensure stability. Lower the bar to your lower chest (an inch or two below your nipples, sorry for the crudeness) and keep your elbow slightly tucked at about 45 degrees from your sides. As you touch your chest with the bar, press the bar straight up.

Lowering the bar too high on your chest or keeping your elbows at 90 degrees to your sides (as many “experts” will tell you is actually better for isolating your chest) will lead to shoulder injuries. Keep your entire body tight. Always focus on being tight.

-Dr. Mark Mylan
Creating fit and healthy bodies with home gym equipment
www.healthyhomegym.com

Comments (0)

April 24, 2010

Home Gym Equipment Tips to Transform Your Life—Part 12

Filed under: Home gym equipment — Tags: best home gym, best home gym equipment, best rated home gyms, home fitness gym, home gym design, Home gym equipment, home gym reviews — info @ 12:30 pm

The Deadlift:

The deadlift is an exercise that has a bad reputation for injuring people, and if done without proper form, will do just that. If done with proper form, it is one of the truest tests of strength. Along with the squat, it is one of the best overall body exercises.

To start the deadlift, place your feet parallel to each other at about shoulder width, grab the bar just outside your legs with a double overhand grip (some people alternate their grip with one overhand and one underhand when the weight gets heavy, but use the double overhand as much as possible), arch your back as much as you can and raise your chest up (this avoids falling forward), head up, breathe in and hold, and finally start the lift.

The lift itself should be smooth. What I mean is you should visualize pressing your heels into the floor. Do not jerk the weight off the floor!!! This is how I severely injured my own back many years ago. Stand up with the weight and the lower it back to the floor.

Once again, the deadlift is a great exercise for men and women. The deadlift will do more for toning legs and butts than doing leg curls and lunges any day. Core strength is greatly improved with regular deadlifting, which will benefit all the other exercises you do.

-Dr. Mark Mylan
Creating fit and healthy bodies with home gym equipment
www.healthyhomegym.com

Comments (0)

April 23, 2010

Home Gym Equipment Tips to Transform Your Life—Part 11

Filed under: Home gym equipment — Tags: fitness workouts, home gym, Home gym equipment, home gyms, home workout, in home gym, workout program, workout routines — info @ 12:30 pm

The Squat:

Let’s take a look at each of the five core compound exercises. Please keep in mind that if you have any injuries that would keep you from doing any of these exercises, please think safety first. Also, please check with your physician before starting any exercise program.

The squat is the king of all exercises. If done properly, it is the most important exercise you can do. The squat trains every muscle of the body if done correctly. The problem is most people don’t know how to do a proper squat and end up hurting their backs or knees.

There are two major rules for the squat: squat to just below parallel (butt slightly below your knees) and your knees should always stay behind your toes. This takes some practice. The set up goes as follows: set the bar just below your trap muscles (this is lower than most people do), squeeze your shoulder blades together, lift the bar off the rack, arch your back, head up (just above parallel), and place your feet just outside your shoulders.

Now, you’re ready to squat: first, sit your butt back like you were going to sit on a chair, as you do this flair your knees to the side slightly (this will keep your knees from going forward over your toes), continue to squat down until your butt is just below your knees with your head level or slightly up the whole time, and then return to standing. There is a lot of coordination to squatting. Take the time to practice this form (you may need a mirror or a friend to watch your form) and you will save yourself from injury.

-Dr. Mark Mylan
Creating fit and healthy bodies with home gym equipment
www.healthyhomegym.com

Comments (0)

April 22, 2010

Home Gym Equipment Tips to Transform Your Life—Part 10

Filed under: Home gym equipment — Tags: benefits of strength training, Home gym equipment, strength training programs, strength training routines, strength training women, strength training workout, women's workout clothes, workout clothes — info @ 12:30 pm

Strength Training 2:

There are five exercises that if done alone would increase the health and fitness of most people, more than most of the programs out there. They are the squat, deadlift, shoulder press, chin ups, and bench press. These compound exercises work the large muscle groups and in the process train the small muscles at the same time.

Now is a good time to address some questions you may be having about this type of training. Compound exercises are more efficient than isolation exercises for building muscle and increasing work capacity.

So, if you are a woman who thinks this type of training will bulk you up or a man who just wants to “tone up” so you don’t need this type of training–Let me assure you that compound exercises will be the best way to get to your goals.

Women’s bodies will not respond to strength training they way a man’s body does due to lower testosterone levels. Therefore, compound exercises will not bulk you up like a man, but will give you a healthy, strong body.

For the guys who are “toning up”, the compound exercises will burn more calories by themselves and also add more muscle that will burn more calories around the clock to get your body more lean. So, no excuses, time to get to work.

-Dr. Mark Mylan
Creating fit and healthy bodies with home gym equipment
www.healthyhomegym.com

Comments (0)

April 21, 2010

Home Gym Equipment Tips to Transform Your Life—Part 9

Filed under: Home gym equipment — Tags: Home gym equipment, strength training, treadmill, treadmills, vitamins, vitamins and supplements, vitamins supplements, workout — info @ 12:30 pm

Strength Training:

The philosophy to strength training is simple. If the exercise uses more muscle groups, it is probably better than one that uses less muscle groups.

Also, if you use more weight with an exercise, it is most likely a better than an exercise that uses less weight. This may seem overly simple or even an obtuse way of looking at training, but usually the philosophy holds true.

What this means is that strength exercises that use many muscle groups are much more effective in building a strong, health body than the isolation of one muscle group.

Now, if you are a bodybuilder that is fine tuning your physique for an upcoming competition, this may not be the case. But for the rest of us, it is a great rule to go by. For example, a squat will burn more calories, build more muscle, and get you in better shape than a leg extension.

Obviously, large muscle groups are more difficult to train and require more energy. Therefore, many people do not train the large muscle groups and instead focus on the small groups. This is unfortunate because a lot of training time is being wasted by focusing on exercises that do not produce results.

-Dr. Mark Mylan
Creating fit and healthy bodies with home gym equipment
www.healthyhomegym.com

Comments (0)

Older Posts »