Monday, August 29, 2011

How To Do Lying Leg Raise With Dumbbell Turkish Get Up



by

healthy_blogging

Last week I showed you how to do the dumbbell Turkish get up exercise. Today I'm going to show you another exercise that you can do at the same time. This second exercise is the lying leg raise. Doing more than one exercise at a time accomplishes several things including:

  • makes workouts more challenging
  • saves time
  • reduces rest breaks between exercises
The Turkish get up becomes more intense once you've added leg raises into the mix.

How To Do Lying Leg Raise With Dumbbell Turkish Get Up

Start out the same way you would when doing a basic dumbbell Turkish get up. Grab a light weight dumbbell and lie down on your back. Hold the dumbbell above your head, your right arm fully extended. Keep your abdominal muscles tight. Your legs should be fully extended. Now use your lower abdominal muscles to raise your feet six inches off the floor. Hold this position for a three count then lower them back down to the floor.

Next bring your right foot up and plant it firmly on the floor next to your left knee. Next, push your weight onto your left elbow. Bring yourself up to a sitting position (keep your arm fully extended above your head). Make sure that you're supporting your body weight on your left palm and right foot. Now bring your left foot back and support some body weight on the balls of your feet. After you've done this, push yourself to a standing position.

The leg raise portion of the exercise is intended to tone your ab muscles, hips and lower back. What you've just been taught is a two for one compound exercise. It's best to use light weights until you've gotten strong enough to progress to heavier weights. Once you've done ten reps, take a short break then go again. This exercise is intense but well worth it. Your whole body will become stronger and more toned.

Do you want to become stronger and healthier? Do you want to make a change for the better? There's never been a better time to get into shape than right now. It's gonna be a great day when you take the first step to a better you.

"Great Chest and Whole Body Workouts: How To Do Lying Leg Raise With Dumbbell Turkish Get Up" copyright 2011 Great Chest and Whole Body Workouts. All Rights Reserved.



Monday, August 22, 2011

How To Do The Turkish Get Up With Dumbbell



by

healthy_blogging

The Turkish get up is one of the less talked about exercises which is a shame because it happens to be very good for developing coordination and strength. The Turkish get up is an important core exercise because it:

  • improves balance
  • improves strength
  • improves posture
  • improves coordination
This is an exercise that you should definitely add to your training routine. And today I'm going to show you how they're done.

How To Do The Turkish Get Up With Dumbbell

There are many different ways to do the Turkish get up; some folks prefer kettle bells or barbells, but novices or less coordinated people should start out with light weight dumbbells (which is the focus of this article). Grab a light weight dumbbell and lie flat on your back. Extend your left leg while bringing your right foot alongside your left knee. Grasp the dumbbell with your right hand and hold it over head. Make sure that your arm is locked out. With your right foot firmly on the floor beside your left knee, push your weight onto your left elbow. Bring yourself to a sitting position while keeping the right arm locked and fully extended above your head. You should now be supporting your weight on your right foot and left palm. Next, bring your left foot back so that some of your body weight is supported on the balls of your left foot. All the while keep your right arm locked and fully extended above your head. Finally, push yourself to a standing position, while keeping the dumbbell above your head. Congratulations! You've just completed one rep of the Turkish get up.

For fun (and to make it a two part exercise), do the Turkish get up in reverse. Go from the standing position to lying flat on your back while holding the dumbbell in your right hand (all the while keeping your arm locked out). You can do it.

Turkish get ups take some getting used to, they're good for developing core strength i.e. strong abs, and back, but require a lot of concentration and balance. You're recruiting muscles in your legs, abdominals, back, shoulders and arms. Practice five per side then increase the weight by five pounds. Go for twenty reps of the Turkish get up and then do other strength training exercises. Each week increase the weight amount in five pound increments, but if you find yourself losing balance while coming up from the floor, it means that you're not ready for that weight amount.

Summer is almost over and a new school season is just around the corner. Put yourself through intense mental and physical training to sharpen your mind as well as your body. Then you'll be on the right track to accomplishing what you want in life.

"Great Chest and Whole Body Workouts: How To Do The Turkish Get Up With Dumbbell" copyright 2011 Great Chest and Whole Body Workouts. All Rights Reserved.

Google+

Monday, August 15, 2011

How To Do Seated Cable Row With Machines

by

healthy_blogging

You know that the back possesses some of the body's most powerful muscles: lats, traps, and rhomboid. These muscles are needed for power lifting, weight lifting and functional strength. Today I'm going to introduce you to the seated cable row (sometimes referred to as the horizontal cable row), one of the most important machine exercises for the back that you'll ever learn about. Here are just a few of the benefits of the horizontal cable row:

  • strengthens the latissimus dorsi muscle
  • strengthens the rhomboid muscle group
  • strengthens the trapezius muscle
  • helps develop the classic V shape
  • simulates rowing action often used in row boating
This is an excellent exercising and definitely worth learning about.

How To Do The Seated Cable Row With Machines

You'll need access to a seated cable row machine for this exercise. You're going to start off with a warm up set, this will increase circulation to your muscles and give you a feel for the exercise. Set the weight to 30 pounds. Most machines have adjustable grips, select the type which is best for you. Sit down on the bench and place your feet on the platform. Your knees should be slightly bent. Take the grip in both hands. Tighten your ab muscles and pull the grip toward your chest.  Do NOT lean backward as you pull the grips toward you, that defeats the purpose of the exercise. If you're leaning backward, it means that the weight is too heavy for you, and you'll need to reduce the amount accordingly. Once you've pulled the grips toward your chest, hold that position for one second. At this point you should squeeze your shoulder blades together, this completes the forward action of the exercise. Next you must retract your muscles i.e. extend your arms again (this means that you'll lean forward slightly which is okay). You've just completed one repetition. Perform nine more at this weight amount to finish your warm up set.

After this, you must add more weight, but not so much that you'll arch your back or be forced to lean backward on the bench. The seated cable row is good for strength training and toning. If your goal is strength training, perform six to eight reps per set; ten or more repetitions would put you in muscle toning territory. After you've finished. five sets of the horizontal cable row you can do other back training exercises (e.g. dumbbell rows, barbell rows, pull ups). Each week add more weight while keeping the number of reps and sets consistent.

The seated cable row will help you to develop the classic V taper and give you a huge back. The exercise has carryover benefits to benching and dead lifting, too, thus making it great for back day.

Do you want to develop a stronger, sexier body? You're on this site, so the answer to that question is yes. Visualizing and believing are just as important as doing it. R.E.M. had a cool song about setting goals and taking it all the way. When you KNOW that you're the star that stands out, you'll do what it takes to reach your goals. Get out there and do it. Now.

"Great Chest and Whole Body Workouts: How To Do Seated Cable Row With Machines" copyright 2011 Great Chest and Whole Body Workouts. All Rights Reserved.

Monday, August 8, 2011

How To Do Bicycle Ab Exercise

by

healthy_blogging

You want those tight abs. You need those tight abs. You know that strong abdominals muscles help with posture and make you look more attractive. Strong abs require constant work and dedication. In the latest installment of my ab exercise series, I'm going to show you how to do the bicycle crunch exercise. The bicycle crunch is important because:

  • it targets the oblique muscles
  • tightens the rectus abdominus (giving you the six pack)
  • improves posture
This exercise can be done just about anywhere, so you should definitely learn how to do them.

How To Do Bicycle Crunches

Lie on your back. Lift your legs from the floor. Now, lock your fingers behind your head. Perform a pedaling motion as if you were riding a bicycle. Use your abdominal muscles to bring your right elbow toward your left knee. Now repeat the same action with your left elbow and right knee. Keep your abs tight throughout the exercise. Set a goal of one hundred crunches, which you can divide into multiple sets i.e. performing ten to twenty-five repetitions per set.

Bicycle crunches can be done on alongside hanging obliques, dragon flag crunches, lying leg raise and Captain's chair ab exercises. Strong abs are essential to developing a tight, strong core which has carryover advantages to dead lifting, squatting and even bench pressing. If your secondary goal is aesthetics, you'll need to drop your body fat to 7 - 9 % in order to show off your six pack.

Do you want a better body? Since you're on this blog the answer is yes. Well, the only way to get a better body is to work for it. It reminds me of a song from Staind, asking if the grass is always green. It can be, if you take care of it. The same thing applies to your body: take care of it and it will take care of you.

"Great Chest and Whole Workouts: How To Do Bicycle Ab Exercise" copyright 2011 Great Chest and Whole Body Workouts. All Rights Reserved.

Monday, August 1, 2011

How To Do One Hand Push Ups



by

healthy_blogging

Push ups are great for developing the chest and upper body. In the latest installment of my push ups series, I'm going to introduce you to the one hand push up. It's one of the best body weight exercise you'll ever learn. One hand push ups are important because they:

  • strengthen your chest muscles
  • strengthen your biceps
  • strengthen your triceps
  • strengthen your core
  • teach balance and coordination
  • don't require any equipment
Rocky Balboa showed the world just how challenging one arm push ups can be. The exercise isn't for the feint of heart, but once you've mastered them you'll be very pleased with yourself.

Let's get started.

How To Do One Arm Push Ups

You shouldn't attempt this exercise until you've mastered the basic push up.  For one arm push ups you'll need a horizontal surface and space to workout. Get down on the floor. Make sure that your feet are slightly more than shoulder width apart. Place your right hand on the floor, palm down. Your hand will be positioned away from the rest of your body.  Balance is the key to successful one arm push ups. Support your weight on the balls of your feet. Lower yourself toward the floor. Twist your torso in the direction of your arm. You can shift the weight on your feet away from your pushing arm. This allows you to maintain balance. Now push yourself back up. You must keep your body tight throughout the exercise. If your core is weak, you won't be able to maintain balance. I usually recommend a specific number of reps and sets when showing you how to do a given exercise. In the case of one arm push ups, I suggest that you go for ten reps per arm, because one arm push ups require a lot of upper body strength, you should start to feel it by the time you finish your fourth rep.

One arm push ups (sometimes referred to as "one arm press ups") are intense for developing your chest and triceps. It's also good for training the weaker side of your body. For example, if your bench press is lagging because one side of your chest or arm is weaker than the other, one hand push ups can be very effective in strengthening them.

Body weight exercises are convenient because they don't require any extra equipment and can be done just about anywhere which is great for times when you can't make it to the gym or don't have a membership. The best way to get good at one arm push ups is to practice, practice and practice some more. When you see how strong, you've become you'll realize that all the hard work was worth it.

Yeasayer's song "Ambling Alps" talks about overcoming obstacles and becoming a better man. Do you want to become stronger, healthier and more confident? It takes hard work and dedication to get from where you are now to where you want to be. That means sticking up for your goals to become the person that you want to be. If you want it, then go get it. Now.

"Great Chest and Whole Body Workouts: How To Do One Hand Push Ups" copyright 2011 Great Chest and Whole Body Workouts. All Rights Reserved.