Exercise Guide

Are you ready for a Fun Set? You may be asking yourself what set could fun? Let me describe the situation by using typical bicep routine.

Let’s suppose when I go the gym today to blast my biceps, I start off with standing barbell curls. I work four sets with 8 to 10 reps. My partner is no way letting me off easy, so he loads the bar to make every set heavy. On the last set, I know 4 reps is going to be tough, the 5th will be almost impossible and 6 through 8 will be done only with his help. My “bi’s” are beginning to fry and I have just gotten started.

Next we move to seated alternating dumbbell curls. The movement is more concentrated because you only have to focus on one arm at time. Again, my partner sees an opportunity to torture me a bit more. He forces me through the last reps of every set. Remember I said fried before; well now we are really pumping in the blood. The head of the bicep is getting down right full from this workout. I feel the growth coming on!

Now I move to another bi blasting exercise, the seated curl machine. This machine isolates the bicep movement and eliminates any possibility of cheating. Again, I do 4 sets of 8-10 reps.

So what the heck is FUN SET? None of the above sounded like fun…right? Hold on I’m getting there. I just had to set the stage for defining the Fun Set.

The Fun Set is a set that you do in addition to your normal routine. However, with the Fun Set you choose any weight and number of reps you want to do. In my mind, if you have just pounded out the hard and heavy sets, the Fun Set should be light weight and done with higher reps. Often I will stay with the last exercise in my arm routine and just lighten up and rep out. In this case the curl machine does the trick for my Fun Set.

My biceps will flush with blood for the best feeling pump on the planet. Try it; you’ll know what I mean. Heck I might even do 2 Fun sets if the feeling is there. You’ll know when to stop. Do too many and the Fun Sets will become counter productive.

You can do a Fun Set with any muscle group! Some suggested funs for other body part are:

* Triceps- do bent over tricep kick backs with a light weight dumbbells

* Pecs- do light weight cable flies or flat bench dumbbell flies

* Back- do wide grip cable pull downs

* Legs- do high rep squeezing leg extensions

* Calves- do calf extensions on box or other elevated surface with just your body weight

The key to a Fun Set is to add it periodically to your regular routine. Keep it spontaneous. Also, keep it light and increase the reps. You will have a blast.

This technique was introduced to me by a very good friend (Tom Hahn) in Louisville, KY. My thanks to him. There is nothing like a FUN SET!

Scott Jameson is a bodybuilder and trainer for over 30 years. He has a passion for bodybuilding and helping other achieve this success. He regularly applies the techniques in this article. See more of his articles at http://www.bodybuildingprogramzone.com

If you want to more information on a Bodybuilding Program - Check out the Zone, the site with a passion for you to succeed.

This article may reproduced on your website provided you acknowledge Scott Jameson as the author and must show link to http://www.bodybuildingprogramzone.com

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Elliptical trainers, sometimes also known as cross trainers, are very useful and effective exercise machines. Although they are not essentially complicated, as with all new types of equipment, it is a good idea to learn how to use elliptical trainers properly to get the maximum benefit from them. That way you are less likely to incur any injury or discomfort and achieve a fat fighting, body-toning workout at the same time.

When you a first learning how to use elliptical trainers, it is best to follow the manual that is supplied with the machinery and also to start slowly until you are sure of what you’re doing and what your tolerance levels are. Only then should you safely build up to a higher level and increase your activity. Although elliptical trainers are a very safe and low impact form of exercise, it is always best to check with your doctor before starting on the new exercise system. Elliptical trainers can subject you to a high level of aerobic activity and increased heart rate and although this is generally good for you, it is always worth checking with your doctor as to whether your health is good enough to start on a dynamic exercise program.

One of the best ways to learn how to use elliptical trainers, even if you have just bought your own machine, is to got to your local gym and use their machines. That way, you get used to using the machine into safe environment, where qualified instructors can tell you the best way to safely use the cross trainer and how to monitor your heart rate and extract the maximum benefits from your time on the machine. They can also tell you how long and what level you should start out at, how long you should exercise for, and also the best way to build up when your tolerance levels are higher and you want to progress further.

Another good way to learn how to use elliptical trainers, if you prefer to do it at home, is to buy an instructional video. Although you usually get instructions when you buy the machine, many people are much better at learning visually, and actually seeing somebody do the exercises and showing you how to use the equipment is the best way for some to learn the correct way of doing things. This is usually relevant to the cheaper machines as many of the more expensive ones are already supplied with a video to help you get started with your workouts.

No matter what method you choose to learn from it is a good idea to get some form of instruction so that you can safely get the best possible workout from your new cross trainer exercise equipment.

Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Elliptical-Trainer-Solutions.com. He provides more elliptical trainer ratings, recommendations and information on how to use elliptical trainers that you can research in your pajamas on his website.

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When you come up with your Body Building
Workout Routine, you generally stick with that
routine for quite some time. You’ll find that, at first,
your body building workout routine is great and you seem to be getting a lot out of it. Therefore
progress is being made.

When it comes to bodybuilding - No. I got that
wrong, when it comes to any form of fitness the
progress slows down. As you increase your muscle size, fitness level or body tone, you seem to get to
a stage where progress is minimal. And
sometimes at a standstill.

You may think to yourself…

“This is a useless body building workout routine. I
feel downhearted. Maybe it’s time to pack it in”

All I can say to you is… DON’T.

The problem is that initial gains from a starting a
workout routine are tremendous. But you can only
go so far. You can’t keep progressing at super
giant leaps, as you did at the start. So whether
you’re body building, increasing fitness aerobically
or seeking out overall body tone… don’t despair.
Keep at it.

Having said all that, there is a solution.
Yep, there sure is. And it’s pretty simple too.

You see, the body gets used to doing things. It
adapts to change. So when you initially began your
body building workout routine, you made
significant progress for two reasons:

1. You may not have been fit in the first place.
Therefore at this point, your body building workout
routine would have had a major impact at first.

2. Your body adapts to your routine. It becomes
used to the exercises that you perform. Therefore
making them less effective.

The Solution -
Change your body building workout routine.

That’s the solution. Pretty simple, huh.

See, when a new exercise is introduced to you
workout routine, your body building progress
increases. Why?

Because the body hasn’t learned to adapt to your
new exercise yet, Therefore making that new part
of your workout more effective. This results in an
increase in strength and size, or fitness and
overall body tone, depending on your goals in the
first place.

That’s all there is to it. Change the exercise.

But wait –

Don’t change the whole workout routine if it’s not
necessary. The reason is that out of the whole
regime, there may still be some exercises that you
feel produce the results you require. If this is the
case, don’t change that exercise if it’s working. The
only change, in that case, is to increase the
challenge of that exercise. Maybe increase the
weight being used.

Only change an exercise if you reckon that you’re
not making any progress on. Work a new exercise
into your body building workout routine. Check the
results and keep it there if it continues to work.

Eventually all your exercises will change, and not
just once. This will be a continuous process.
Months later, the exercise that didn’t work back
then, may work now.

Essentially, keep the initial exercises for about five
to eight weeks. At that stage if your progress is
good, keep on doing that routine. After a while, if
you haven’t already, your progress will reduce.

At that stage, change the appropriate exercises
where you feel that progress is diminishing. Keep
a constant eye on your body building workout
routine. And keep adapting and changing,
adapting and changing, regularly.

Tony Farrell makes it easier for you to achieve your muscle and fitness goals. Learn the essential 3 keys to paving the way to your goals. Get your free mini-course now. http://www.think-and-grow-muscle-and-fitness.com

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