Fast and Furious Fitness

All,

I’ve often said (and imply in pretty much every post of mine) that training the largest muscle groups of the body intensely produces the best results, both in terms of fitness and in terms of “muscle growth” (for those that are interested in that aspect).

The legs are obviously then the part that need to be worked the most - but the muscle group(s) that comes a close second is the back. I’ve been neglecting the back a bit during my recent workouts (and blog posts to be honest), and decided to fix that today. Now, don’t get me wrong - I’ve been focusing on squats and pushups mostly (along with bridging) and those are the cornerstone of any bodyweight program - but, pull ups and chin ups are important to train as well, in fact so important that you might devote an entire workout (or the majority of an entire workout) to them per week.

Before I get into what my routine comprised of today (and it was fairly simple to be honest), I’ll mention some important reasons why the back muscles are important to train: -

- The “largest muscle group” theory as mentioned above.
- The back is responsible for posture. Train the back well, and you’ll stand erect, walk tall and “proud”, and will have that “military bearing” which commands respect.
- The back is used in virtually ALL compound exercises - strengthen the back, and you simaltaneously strengthen the entire upper body, and abdominal region.
- Stretch the back, and you’ll automatically give the impression of having a wider and “deeper” chest - which in turn lends itself to better performance on the chest exercises you do.
- A strong lower back automatically means a stronger core - and, I don’t think I need to mention the importance (both physcially and aesthitically) of that one to anybody. . .;)

So - on to the workout - and as I said it was pretty simple. I added in pull ups and chin ups during my squatting routine, so essentially I broke up my routine as such: Squats, jumper squats, chin ups, breathing exercises, Sumo squats, pull ups, chin ups, jumping lunges, chin ups, and finally jumping lunges, followed by some mountain climbers. Then my pushup routine, and finally the back/front bridge.

Seems like a longer workout than usual, but I actually finished BEFORE time (guess why?). . . And, I performed better on the chin ups than the pull ups. Again, I’ll let you guess why (hint - the reason is there in the previous blog posts).

And that, my friend, is a sunny and way too warm Wednesday morning here.

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul

All,

I spoke yesterday about the benefits of deep breathing, and why you should be incorporating it into your workouts as well (or make it a gentle workout in itself). Today I’ll give you a quick example from my own workout which illustrates just how useful deep breathing can be (in addition to what I’ve already said before).

What I did today was do a deep breathing exercise after each leg exercise today. So I did my Hindu squats, then a set of deep breathing exercises. Then jumpers, then deep breathing, and so forth. And I achieved personal bests in the following exercises: jumper squats, and jumping lunges - while doing all my other exercises in a more “rythmic” pattern, if that makes sense. Well, there’s obviously something to it then!

My own theory is that mixing in deep breathing with the regular workout has two advantages : a) giving your “regular” muscles a bit of a break and thus allowing them to come back stronger for the next exercise and b) “active recovery” i.e. the deep breathing flushes out the toxins which build up in the muscles during a workout.

It also has the effect of leaving me less drained after my workout - which is a good thing. You should feel “buzzed” and ready to go after a tough workout - rather than ready to flop down on the couch and snooze. And, I’ve found deep breathing aids a LOT to this end. Not to mention that it keeps the blood flowing effectively throughout the entire workout, and thats always a good thing.

So - try and devote a bit more time to deep breathing exercises, or just deep breathing alone in the right fashion - and let me know your findings!

And, I know I haven’t covered what exact breathing exercises I use, amongst a host of other stuff I want to cover. So much to cover, so little time. . .

All for now though -back tomorrow hopefully.

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul

That’s the principle I used this morning while training. This is an advanced variation, therefore, it may be unsuitable for those that are just starting out. But for those of you that are advanced trainees, read on. . . Hopefully this tip will help you in your training!

The method is basically what the name says - one hard, long, set. I concentrate more on the tougher exercises while applying this principle, which makes it even harder. What I generally do in my routine is two sets of each exercise, but here I combine both into ONE long set. I may take a breather (a very short one) in the middle, but it’s essentially one long, hard, ardous set which really gets the heart rate up, and the breathing going overtime.

For instance, here’s what I did with my sumos, jumpers and jumping lunges (note these are all tough exercises): -

20 reps of Sumo Squats on each leg
15 reps of Jumping Lunges
41 Jumper squats

and all this, done in a long set for each exercise. Sure, I took maybe a couple of seconds breather DURING each set, but that doesn’t make it any easier to be honest.

This technique may seem similar to “supersetting”, but there is one difference - the breather allows you to perform at about 75%-80% of your maximal capacity during the rest of the set. While supersetting you generally don’t take a breather at all, but that allows you to only perform at maybe 50% or less during the superset.

So, thats another different way to train. Amazing how many variations one can come up - which WORK if you just train.

And thats really all there is to it. TRAIN - and the rest will take care of itself.

All for now.

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul

All,

Today, I’m going to write about one of the secrets to improving in all your exercises. Actually, it shouldn’t even be called a secret the way I look at it - it’s basically the “mind-muscle” link. And, I’m going to explain how I implement it into my exercises, and how it’s helped me - and can help YOU improve in your exercises.

This link is actually one of the most important keys to progress in any exercise, but especially a tough exercise. I find it most useful while doing pull ups and extended arm pushups, and I’ll cover how I implement this principle into those exercises.

First, it’s important to know that each exercise (at least, the ones I recommended) uses the entire body as a whole, but also has a “primary” group of muscles being worked. Usually that primary group of muscles being worked is the “largest” muscle group in that part of the body, and it consequently follows that these are going to contribute the most to improvement in that exercise.

With that in mind, it becomes VERY important to “focus” on the primary muscle being worked. Heck, I should say “focus into”, or “go deep into” the muscle being worked, even if you can’t see it being worked. This will automatically force your body to a) use that muscle all the more actively, and b) focus on form as well, and both of these will result in overall improvement.

Pull ups are an exercise which demand a lot of focus for many people, including me (yes, even me, even after all the training I do). Same goes for extended arm pushups. To get the most out of the pull ups, I focus intensely on the muscles underneath my arms (the lats) and focus on “pulling up” with THOSE muscles, rather than the arms as many people are prone to do. I focus on the back, and really “squeeze” the muscles being worked while performing my pull ups, rather than my arms. And this has lent itself to manifold improvement for me when doing my pull ups.

The same goes for doing my extended arm pushups. The primary muscle groups being worked here are the lower back and the lats, therefore, I focus on keeping a) my lower back straight and tight, b)pushing up with the lower body instead of the chest, and c) really engaging the lats much the same way as I do with the pull ups. And this may sound strange, considering we’re talking about pushups - but for those of you who’ve actually done this exercise in the right way - you’ll know what I’m talking about!!

So - focus on the muscle being worked, and really “get into” it. This one tip will prove to be invaluable when it comes to improving in the tougher exercises. Actually, all exercises.

All for today. Get fit - FAST!

Rahul

All,

An exercise combination which I love to do is mixing in squats (various variations) along with pull ups (in it’s various forms).

I’ve already spoken at length about squats, so I’ll speak a bit about the pull-ups today.

Pull ups are an excellent strength exercise, bar none. Done correctly, these work the entire upper body - especially the back and forearms which get “direct” work by virtue of pulling/gripping; but also the shoulders and core, and chest to a lesser degree. Done correctly, there isn’t a fiber in the upper body this exercise doesn’t hit.

And they go especially well with squats. Squats, and other leg exercises I’ve mentioned hit the back as well, thereby “warming” it up for the intense pull ups to come. And the pull ups stretch the spine/back out, thereby reducing the “tight” feeling which sometimes occurs while doing leg exercises. The two complement each other perfectly well, and a complete body workout can be achieved in 10-12 minutes. Of course you can go longer than that; I do a lot of times, but if done correctly, 10-12 is more than plenty for the average person!

Here is a short, but intense workout that’ll really get the blood pumping: -

- 50 - 100 Hindu squats
- Pull ups (10, break up into sets if required).
- Jumping Lunges (10 on each leg)
- Sumo squats
- Pull ups (10, break up into sets if required).
- Jumper squats (25 - 50, break up into sets if required)
- Pull ups (10, break up into sets if required)
- Back bridge (front and back) to finish things off.

That routine should take roughly 25 minutes to complete, depending upon how many reps you do for the pull ups. After these, find the nearest chair - you’ll need it! I’m used to working out in this style, but even so, this routine really gets things going; and I do need a break after it.

As with any other exercise, correct form is paramount as with the breathing. It is better to execute 5 perfect pull ups rather than 20 sloppily performed pull ups.

Pull ups are incredibly demanding, so you might not want to do them daily. Or, you might want to vary the numbers you do daily (i.e. do 10 one day, go for a “25″ max the other, etc etc). However you choose to do them though, they are something you definitely want to include in your training regimen.

So - squat, pull, squat, and pull some more. End things off with a stretch or two - and there you have it - an entire body workout that’ll hammer you into tomorrow.

Try it, and let me know how it works for you.

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul