-
The one muscle that’s most used and abused and also the most neglected is the erector spinae or the muscle that supports the spine and keeps it erect.
This muscle is used in virtually all the daily activities, be it sitting, standing, walking, running or even while sleeping! A weak erector spinae causes a feeling of tiredness, bad posture, and other common lower back problems.
On the other hand, a stro...
|
-
Warm up and stretching are a must to prepare muscles for the actual weight training workouts. They not only prevent the muscles from getting injured, they prepare the muscles for a longer range of motion, thus involving every fibre of the related muscle, resulting in better, more powerful and injury free workout.
Lack of stretching results in stiffening of the muscles, limiting their range of motion. Not stretching before a workout can result in over extension of the muscles, tendons or ligaments because of the pull applied by the weight, which commonly results in strain or a sp...
|
-
Modelling is one of the most sought after professions amongst youngsters. But what are the basic requirements to be a successful model? Good looks to begin with. And if one does not have a good face, there is not much that can be done about it but the body can definitely be moulded to look good.
So what is a "model" body? Well, a model requires a lean, muscular, proportionate body with minimal fat unlike body builders who require size too. So a model’s diet and workouts should help him to acquire a lean and muscular frame. For this he or she has to c...
|
-
A workout constitutes not just what you do in the gym or physical exercise but is an entire regimen that includes your diet, your discipline and rest, apart from the actual exercises. So before you get onto the weighing scales, weigh some of these suggestions. WARM UP AND COOL DOWN. You just cannot slip into those tracks and get onto that treadmill or start lifting weights. Why? Because that is a human body you have got there, not nuts and bolts but muscles and tendons and bones. According to a doctor, giving the warm-up and cool-down routi...
|
-
To make your muscles grow, one should follow the principal of progression. In progression, the weight placed on each muscle is progressively and systematically increased over a period of time. The weight training workout is, therefore, aptly called progressive resistance training.
Start out doing the weight training in which you can manage 10 repetitions of a specific weight. In your next workout of the same muscle, add 2.5 – 5 kgs and try doing 10 repetitions again.
As a serious body builder you will be expected to repeat this build u...
|
-
How can you tell the weight training program you are following is the right one? There is only one indicator to a programme’s value and that is progress. Here are a few must points to get the desired results in weight training — 1. Eat several, small meals to ensure you get adequate nutrition. 2. Consume 1 gm of protein per pound of body weight. Women should consume 1 gm of protein per kg of body weight. 3. Vary your weight training program every 6-...
|
-
In bodybuilding the number of repetitions one should perform per set depends on the type of body he wants. Muscles are made up of two kinds of fibres, fast twitch (contracting ) and slow twitch (contracting ) When one does heavy-weight lifting with less repetitions (4-6), it stimulates the fast contracting fibres. That results in big gain in muscle size. This kind of lifting cannot be sustained for long because fast contraction results in quick fatigue.
Light-weight lifting with lots of repetitions (18-20) stimulate slow contracting fibres. This results in hardening of the existing musc...
|
-
The skeletal muscles are those which enable body movement and are stimulated in all body-building exercises. Each muscle consists of a fleshy part made of striped fibers and on either end, tendinous parts consisting of fibrous tissues. The muscle is attached to the bone or skin by these tendons.
To be able to produce movement at a joint, a muscle or its tendon must stretch across the joint. When a muscle contracts, its fibers shorten and it pulls one bone towards another, such as in the bending of the elbow.
The muscles of the skeleton...
|
-
The contraction of muscles requires energy which is derived from breakdown of carbohydrate and fat. Protein molecules are used for energy only when supplies of carbohydrate and fat are deficient. The carbohydrate is converted into glucose and stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver, fat into fatty acid and stored as body fat, protein into amino-acid and used for tissue growth and repair.
For activities requiring a quick burst of energy like power and weight lifting, the energy is derived from creatine phosphate stored in the body. Creatine phosphate is derived mainly from non-vegetarian food. Therefore vegetarians require outside supple...
|
-
Many times I have been asked why it is important to do multiple sets of weight training with lots of repetitions? The answer lies in the way the fibers (which muscles are made of), react to the weight training stimulus. When we lift some weight, each fiber contracts to its full capacity or not at all. The amount of weight one can lift depends on (a) number of fibers contracting at the same time, (b) the strength of these fibers and (c) the correct technique. If one does one set of an exercise with just 1-2 reps the body is not able to recruit all the fibers, so it leaves some fibers non-stimulated resulting in incomplet...
|