5 Ways to Increase Your Reps without Injury.

You can't expect different results if you always follow the same workout program. One simple way to overcome an exercise plateau is by increasing your reps in a strength-training regimen. Increasing your reps will help you build strength and improve your overall fitness. Before you get too excited and go to the gym and do 30 reps per set, follow these tips to increase your reps without injuring yourself in the process.

5 Ways to Increase Your Reps

1- Record Current Abilities

The only way to increase the number of reps for any exercise is recognizing your current abilities. Using the normal weight for an exercise, work on as many repetitions as possible until the arms or legs start feeling a burn or fatigue. Never push the muscles until it is shaking because it will cause more harm than good. Record the results and the current weight. Increasing the reps in any exercise is about doing more over time so that the muscle mass increases and strength inevitably follows.

2-  Break Exercises into Sets

If you already started a fitness program, skip this step since you already know this. For fitness newbies, however, this is important. Sets make it easier to keep up with exercises because a smaller number of repetitions are performed at a time. If you’re doing 30 curls in a row, break that number down into 3 10-rep sets. Exercising in sets will make it easier to avoid muscle fatigue during the initial weight training. Perform one set and then rest for two to three minutes. Repeat until reaching the previous maximum.


3- Take a Creatine Supplement

A tri-creatine matrix like MenScience Creatine Results Booster helps saturate the muscles with creatine, which can help you bulk up and improve your strength. Creatine increases the water content of muscles, making them appear fuller and larger. It also increases the body’s stores of ATP, the energy your body uses to contract muscles. These two benefits will help you boost your strength and speed up results.

4- Increase the Weight

Repetitions are not the only way to improve strength training. When the body adjusts to four sets at one weight, it is better to increase the amount of weight by five pounds to continue building up muscle. Adding more weight will improve strength without adding to the amount of time spent on exercise.

5- Add Reps Gradually

A simple way to increase the total repetitions is by adding two to five repetitions in each set. For example, if the original set had ten repetitions, then add two more repetitions before resting between sets. The increased number of repetitions in the set will add to the total number of repetitions without creating a feeling of fatigue or causing the muscles to shake from exertion. This added effort will help you lift more in the future.

How to Get Rid of Arm Fat and Tone Your Triceps

Having excess fat on your arms can be embarrassing, especially in the spring and summer while everyone around you is wearing tank tops and other sleeveless shirts. There are several exercises that can be done at home to help shed the fat and tone your upper arms, however. By practicing these exercises daily, you'll be able to slim down and tone your arms, making the warmer months much more enjoyable.

Instructions

1- Practice doing pushups. Pushups are one of the easiest ways to tone your upper arms because they require no specialized equipment. Start by placing your palms on the floor parallel to your shoulders. Keep your arms straight and your elbows locked. You can also do pushups on your knees. Bend your elbows to lift your body up and down. Start off by doing 20 reps per day and increasing them as time goes on for maximum results.

2- Sit up with your back straight and your legs placed firmly on the floor. Take a dumbbell in each hand. Lift your arms so your elbows are pointed towards your feet and position your hands by the side of your head. Keeping your elbows as straight as possible, slowly lift the weights above your head and towards the ceiling. Bend your arms back down so your hands and the dumbbells return to the side of your head. Practice doing between 15 to 20 reps each day for maximum results.

3- Tone your upper arms by doing arm circles. Stand up with your feet together and a dumbbell in each hand. Spread your arms out so you make a "T" shape, then rotate both arms in a small clockwise circle. For maximum results, do this 20 times then switch to counter clockwise circles.

4- Work out by doing concentration curls. Sit at the end of a chair with your feet on the floor and your legs spread out. Place a dumbbell between your legs and bend over to pick it up. As you pick up the dumbbell, place your elbow against your knee and keep it there. Do this 20 times with each arm.

How to Get a Toned Strong Chest Fast.

Walk into any gym and you’ll see guys pumping iron, building up their pectoralis major and minor muscles, or simply their pecs. A strong, well-toned chest definitely draws attention, but more importantly, strength in the upper body can help athletes perform at their best. To develop your pecs, and specifically your lower pecs, include a variety of exercises to target and work these muscles.

•Weight Training Exercises:

Step 1

Build and strengthen your lower pecs with bar dips. At the gym, put one hand on each bar and bend your knees. You can also cross your feet. Next, lower yourself to the floor and lean slightly forward. Make sure you keep your arms near the sides of your body. When you feel a slight stretch in the shoulders, push yourself back up to the start position with your arms. Your posture should remain the same as you lower your body and return to the start. This exercise not only works the lower pecs, but also the triceps, deltoids and lats.

Step 2

Pump up your pecs with decline bench press. This is a potentially dangerous exercise and should only be done by experienced weight lifters and with a spotter. Lie on a decline bench and make sure your feet are locked under the leg supports. Next, grip the bar a little wider than shoulder-width and lift it off the rack. Slowly allow the bar to descend to your chest and finish by explosively pressing it back to the start position. The decline bench press focuses on the lower pectorals, according to Mike Behnken, certified personal trainer.



Step 3

Work your lower pecs with decline dumbbell flyes. You'll need a decline bench for this exercise as well. Once again, lie on a decline bench and lock your feet underneath the leg padding. Use a spotter to give you the dumbbells. Next, spread your arms wide with a slight bend in the elbows. Bring the dumbbells together to finish the exercise. This motion is similar to wrapping your arms around a large tree trunk.

Warnings:

•Any chest exercise involving a barbell or weight bench should have a spotter.

*Tips:

•Perform exercises such as narrow grip bench press and incline bench •press to strengthen the inner pecs and upper pecs respectively.

*Things You'll Need:

•Decline weight bench
•Barbell and barbell weights
•Dumbbells
•Parallel Dip Bars.

How to Get Those Toned Abs You Always Wanted.

By eating a balanced, nutritious diet and exercising regularly you can lower your overall body fat. As your body fat drops you can burn stomach fat and develop a set of chiseled, defined abs. The Mayo Clinic notes doing spot exercises like sit-ups won't reduce body fat in the abdominal area. Eat fewer calories than you burn to shed body fat and reveal your abs. Doing abdominal exercises may not shed fat, but can help you develop your ab muscles, creating the coveted abdominal six pack.

•Step 1

Consume fewer calories than you expend through a combination of diet and exercise. Shed weight at the rate of one to two pounds each week by burning 500 to 1000 calories more than you take in each day. The Mayo Clinic notes you may initially lose weight at a quicker pace. This is acceptable if the changes you make to your diet support your overall health.

•Step 2

Eat complex carbohydrates like oatmeal, fruits and vegetables, healthy fats like olive oil and lean proteins like tuna to cut back on calories, shed fat and tone up your midsection. Complex carbohydrates keep your insulin levels stable, preventing insulin spikes which promote weight gain. Healthy fats improve your cardiovascular health, and help you feel satiated. Lean proteins feed your muscles amino acids, pumping up your gym workouts.

•Step 3

Do crunches to define your abdominal muscles. Lie on a flat bench, and position yourself so your head hangs off the bench and feet rest near the end of the bench. Raise your upper torso by flexing your waist, then elevate your torso as high as you can, keeping your lower back flush against the bench. Hold the peak contraction for a moment and slowly lower upper torso until your shoulders make contact with the bench. Do four sets of 15 repetitions. Rest for 45 seconds between sets.

•Step 4

Go for a brisk walk or jog to shed fat and tighten up your abs. The Department of Health and Human Services suggests 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week to burn calories, improve your mood and increase heart health. Walk to stores within walking distance instead of driving or take the stairs instead of the elevator to burn more calories.

•Tips

To supercharge your weight loss campaign do free weight exercises like squats, dead lifts and bench presses once a week. Resistance training boosts your metabolism which helps you shed fat. Do four sets of 15 repetitions for each exercise, resting for 60 seconds to ramp up the intensity of your workouts. Consult a physician before starting an exercise and diet program.

3 Health Benefits of Running you probably didn't know.

Wondering about what you can do to extend your life and age healthfully? Start running. The benefits of running are well documented. What’s more, running is easy to do and requires no special equipment other than good shoes. If you have never run before check with your healthcare provider to be sure you are healthy enough to hit the pavement.

1- Running Boosts Health:

Running at a moderate pace increases lung function and boosts your immunity. That means you may get fewer colds. You can also enjoy better overall health. Running has been shown to raise your good cholesterol and lower your risk of diabetes. Running can reduce your chances of getting some types of cancer. You may also be less likely to have heart disease, high blood pressure or a stroke.

2- Running Boosts Mood:

Runners know that a bad day quickly slips away when they lace up their shoes and head for the road. The reason for this is that running encourages secretion of hormones called endocannabinoids. In fact, running regularly has been shown to be just as effective as anti-depressants for treating mild depression. Get these feel good benefits with a running program of just 30 minutes most days of the week. When you do you will find that you sleep better and have less anxiety, too.

3- Running helps you Manage your Weight:

If you are looking for a stress busting strategy that can help you stay slim running is it. Running burns calories and fat. Maintaining a healthy weight is an important way to avoid chronic illness.

If you have never run before, don’t worry, getting started is easy. Begin a regular walking program and add a few seconds of running each minute. Increase the amount of running time as you build stamina. In the beginning you might run 10 seconds of every minute. With time you can increase to alternating one minute of walking with one minute of running. Before you know it you will be able to run for 30 minutes. Stick with it and be patient with your progress. The health benefits will be well worth your efforts.

Fitness : Strength Training Benefits Without Lifting Heavy Weights.

Lifting is an important component of any fitness programs. Benefits include improved bone density and body composition. Other reasons to weight train include improved insulin sensitivity, which means a lowered risk of type 2 diabetes, increased strength and lean muscle mass. All these positive outcomes can lead to greater confidence and better overall mental and physical health. You can enjoy all the benefits of strength training without lifting heavy weights. Here are some tips to get started.

1- Add more reps

Strength training with heavy weights can fatigue muscles quickly. You can build strength with lighter weights using more reps. This strategy can be just as effective for increasing muscle strength and encouraging muscle growth. More reps help you build endurance and maximize metabolic stress, which encourages the very muscle growth you are after.

2- Try Plyometrics

Plyometric exercises train the body using resistance. You can build muscle power with these jump training moves. Results are achieved by forcing the muscles to contract quickly in what is called a stretch-shortening cycle. Benefits include improved strength, speed and muscle elasticity.  Runner’s World recommends that you have a good strength training regimen in place before beginning a plyometric plan to minimize risk of injury. They also offer the following sample exercise: Height Skips – skip along jumping as high as you can. Try to land on the ball of your feet as you skip. The emphasis in this exercise should be on how high you can jump. Aim for 15 reps per leg.

3- Build strength with planks

Planks area great go to exercise for strength building. This resistance exercise builds your core, shoulders, arms and glutes. A basic plank begins with a push up position and uses your body weight to strengthen and tone. Place your body stomach down on a mat or towel. Lift yourself up so that your body is resting on your toes and the forearms. Your spine should be straight so that from the side it looks like a plank. You should feel the work in your abs and arms. If you feel it in your back reposition your body. Start with two 20 second reps every other day.

4- Buy a resistance band

This go anywhere tool is a great way to build general muscle strength. Resistance bands are inexpensive and easy to use. When you get one try the lunge with bicep curl to build upper and lower body strength.  Start by putting the band on the floor and placing your right foot on it. Step back with your left foot and with an underhand grip on the handles pull the band toward your chest as you bend your right leg into the lunge position. Aim for 15-20 reps per leg.

Strength training is especially important as we age. Improved bone density and reduced likelihood of type 2 diabetes are two of the most important health benefits this health activity provides. Training without lifting heavy weights can help you build strength and stamina with less risk of injury. Try a few of the above exercises to get in good shape for life.

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