In many exercise programs, be it weight lifting for building and toning muscles or cardio vascular exercises for increasing stamina and to lose weight, most people do not perform enough stretching exercises even though stretching exercises can be performed by anyone at any age unless that person has some physical restriction to stretch. What is worse, many people do not even stretch before and after exercising. Unknown to most people, stretching also has anti aging benefits.

•Benefits of stretching exercises for muscle growth

Stretching is an important aspect of exercising and should be a part of any exercise routine and program. There are many wonderful benefits when you perform regular stretching exercises. Stretching exercises not only help you to warm up and cool down before and after your workouts, it can and will actually help your muscles to grow bigger and stronger too. Don’t believe me? Then read on.

Stretching exercises help muscle growth because stretching lengthens your muscles and thus giving your muscle fibers a greater range of motion when lifting weights. So in effect, it recruits more muscle fibers and thus causing your muscles to grow stronger and bigger from your weight training.

By stretching your muscles after an intensive workout will reduce muscle soreness commonly known as DOMS (delayed onset muscle sore) which usually occurs a day after your workout.

Performing stretching exercises before your workout or before a physically demanding sporting activity will also decrease your chances of sustaining injuries and muscle cramps which will certainly destroy the joy of your activity.
(more…)

Ok, so your one of those people who just has the worst kind of schedule known to mankind. You get up at 5am so you can get to the office by 7am to start your day. You have to go to a parent-teachers meeting at your kid’s school right after work, then you have to take your kid to soccer practice after that. You seem to have days like this almost all the time. You never seem to have much time for yourself between all of the things you have to do every day, so how can you possibly find the time to incorporate exercise into your day? Exercise takes time, and time is one luxury you just don’t have.

Well, there is a way to get some exercise into your day and that way is to simply exercise at your desk. No, that was not a typo. Here is a little routine that you can do right at your desk. It doesn’t take up much time and while it will not make you a candidate for the next fitness competition, it will give your muscles enough work to stay firm.

Complete one set of each exercise in order. Do 10 to 20 repetitions of each exercise, and follow with 1 to 2 more sets in order if time permits it.

Chair crunch:
Sit tall in your chair with your feet flat on the floor. Begin to slowly round your upper back downward until you feel your abdominal muscles tighten. Hold for 3-5 seconds, and then return to the start position.

Squats:
Stand up in front of your chair. Sit back into a squat like you are sitting back down in your chair, keeping your weight on your heels and your knees behind your toes. When you are almost touching your chair with your butt, push yourself back to the standing position using your leg muscles.

Calf raises:
Stand in front of your desk and put your hands on the desk for balance. Lift yourself up onto the balls of your feet. Hold for 3 to 5 seconds, and then lower yourself back down to the floor.

Desk pushup:
Stand 4 to 5 feet away from your desk and put of your hands on the edge of the desk. Relax your lower body and using just your arms, lower your chest down toward the desk and stop when your chest is about 3 to 6 inches away from it. Then push yourself back up to the starting position again using only your arms.
(more…)

Let’s start with this very important rule: NEVER OVERDO THE FIRST FEW SESSIONS. Many beginners to exercising fall for this trap, especially when they do not have qualified trainers with them. They get overly excited and lose patience. They try to produce in two weeks what often takes years to accomplish.

They begin by going all out right from the start doing as much as they can. The next day, their joints and muscles lock up in pain. Then, they get discouraged, stop exercising for a while and give it up altogether. Workouts should start out smooth and easy.

Here is a warm-up routine to do 1 set of before every workout, but doing 3 sets of these alone can be a pretty good workout; particularly if you are a beginner.

LEG STRETCH
Lean over deeply on your left foot while your right leg is stretched out to your right side. Maintain balance.
Slowly, raise yourself with your left leg to a standing position.
As you stand, spread your feet wide apart.
Repeat this for ten counts.
Do steps 1 to 4 again; this time, alternate the legs’ position (left becomes right, and vice-versa).
This exercise warms up your legs, calves, and abdomen.

LEG SQUAT
Stand erect, chest out, with your buttocks protruding and your stomach in. Put your hands straight out in front of you. Relax.
Do squats by bending your legs to lower your body. Bend your legs until your upper legs (thighs) are parallel to the ground and you are in a squatting position. Keep your body erect as you squat.
Then raise yourself as you straighten your legs back to a standing position.
Do around 5 to 10 squats. Inhale deeply as you go down. Exhale as you stand up.
This exercise warms up your leg muscles, calves, and the muscles in your abdomen.
(more…)

Russian Kettlebells are amazing! These kettlebell workouts may be the answer to maintaining a home gym or having an expensive club membership.

With Russian kettlebells you can develop superior gains over traditional workout methods and save lots of space in your home.

The man who teaches Russian Kettlebell training is Pavel Tsatsouline. He is a former Spetznaz trainer. For those who may not know, Spetznaz is the Russian equivalent of the CIA or special forces.

As every high-risk agent would wish for, after studying some of Pavel’s books you can definitely find out how to have explosive instant power ready at all times.

But, not everyone is a spy; in fact very few of us are. So what benefits does kettlebell training have for the average woman or man?

Kettlebell training can be a great way to lose weight, tone up the body, and stay in shape once you get it there with the added benefits mentioned above.

And not only that, kettlebell workouts may be better for you than weights. In one of his books, Pavel mentions some of the fitness tests that were used to compare kettlebell training to traditional workouts.
(more…)