Fitness Tip of the Week #21 How to best do a Pull-up
I read a statistic that said most Americans can’t do a complete, correct pull-up. Maybe you are one of those people, and if you are, it’s ok. A correct, fully unassisted pull-up takes a lot of strength. It is a great move that all strength training routines should take advantage of. But, if you can’t even do a pull-up, or can only get maybe one or two, what should you do? Many people don’t know where to begin when training for pull-ups. Well, here are several different techniques that you can implement into your strength training routines that will begin to develop the strength and power needed to do pull-ups.
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Exercise of the Week #41 Kids Lunges
EXERCISE OF THE WEEK #41
LUNGES FOR KIDS
We now move to a lower body move for the kids. Lunges are in our opinion the best choice for lower body strength. For kids especially it has some many beneficial components such as balance, flexibility, power, and of course strength. Try different variations of the lunge such as side lunges or walking lunges. Next week will will show you how to incorporate some basic equipment to help improve the overall strength of your young athlete.
Muscle Memory, Fact or Fiction?
I spoke with a client the other day who had started running again for the first time in a long time. She used to run quite a bit in the past but has not done any now in over 4 years. She tried to go for a few runs this past week and said that it seemed as though she had never run before. She was frustrated, not that she could not run for long distances but that she felt like she had no ability to run with any kind of a stride that resembled what she used to have.
"I Need Better Flexibility in My Hamstrings, Where do I Start?"
Another great example that we get asked all the time. How do I increase flexibility in my hamstrings? It comes from many different sources when people ask us. "My Doctor tells me I need better flexibility in my hamstrings to help with my low back pain." "My Golf Instructor tells me that increasingly my hamstring flexibility will improve my swing plane." There are thousands of reasons you want to maintain flexibility in your hamstrings but rather than list what you already know, let us take a few minutes and show you some simple steps to get started.
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Does Wearing a Weight Vest While Doing Cardio Help?
Recently I purchased a few weight vests
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Are Weight Training Machines Really Worth it?
For the many years I worked in the Bally's and Gold's Gym worlds I noticed how incredible dependent on machines everyone was. The facilities were wall to wall equipment so I guess it only made sense but I noticed the incredible amount of people who used the weight training machines as opposed to going to the Free Weight area. This was for two main reasons in my opinion. The first being that people were intimidated by the free weight area and the people working out in it. The second is that the machines are just easier.
Flexibility in the Spine, don't Lose it!
The ability to maintain mobility in your back or more specifically for this post, your spine, is something that when you are in your 20's you do not think about all that much. Well ok I actually did think about it quite a bit in my 20's but I am fairly passionate about health and human performance. Most people in their 20's do not give it a lot of thought. But I am wondering how many people in their 50's. 60's 70's and even older wish they would have spent more time on it when they were in their 20's? I will go ahead and answer for them and say most.
What is the Best Position to do Overhead Presses?
Great exercises can go terribly wrong if you do them from an anatomical position that is not safe for your body. Overhead press moves like Military Presses are a great tool for adding strength to the muscles of the deltoid and thoracic back. However many people choose to do these moves from either a seated or standing position, both of which can cause more harm then good.
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Fitness Tip of the Week #15 Make sure to Breathe!
Proper breathing techniques are often overlooked when it comes to lifting weights. Most people never think about their breathing when they are lifting weights; it usually never crosses their mind. For the most part, it doesn’t seem to be a big factor. Yet, using the right breathing patterns as you lift will have a big effect on how the lift will affect your body.
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Should I do a Kneeling Pushup or a "Regular" Pushup?
For all my life I have heard that to do pushups on my knees meant I was doing "girl" pushups. As a kid of course I believed this so I, being the studly kid I was, did pushups from my toes. Well, like many other lies that guys fall into, this one made me do thousands of pushups with terrible form.
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