Tag Archives: strength training

I Want to Know How to Build My Own Exercise Program

Last week, I asked and you answered. One of the things you wanted to know about was how to build your own exercise program. An exercise program needs to consist of three basic elements: cardiovascular exercise, strength training and flexibility. These are the three tiers of fitness that you want to address. Cardiovascular Training Cardiovascular training refers to building fitter heart and lungs. Exercises you might do to increase your cardiovascular fitness include: walking, running, bicycling, roller blading, jump roping and more. Essentially, you want to hit your target heart rate and maintain it for at least 15 to 20 … Continue reading →

Dear Heather …. Where Have You Been?

Dear Heather, I enjoyed reading your Dear Heathers when you published them, but it seems like it’s been a while since you posted one. Also, I have been doing my own workout at home for a few years now, I alternate strength training and cardio and it seems to be a good system. But I do sit-ups every morning before I shower (I know they are strength training, but I have a phobia about my middle) and even though I can do 50 at a time and it’s easy, I still do them. Is there a way I can make … Continue reading →

S is for Sit –Ups

When you do a sit-up you are performing a strength training exercise. A standard sit up begins with you lying on your back, knees bent at a 45 degree angle and your hands behind your head. You use leverage to lift yourself up until only your buttocks are touching the floor and your abdominal muscles are used to contract to lift you up and then relaxed to lower you back down. There are a number of ways to perform a sit-up: Legs straight Knees bent Using a balance ball Using a medicine ball Holding weights Hands behind your head Hands … Continue reading →

D is for Dumbbell

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Dumbbells – the standard name for free weights. There are a lot of jokes that used to be made about dumbbells, but we’re going to avoid those today. Typically, a dumbbell is a weight that features a short bar with a weighted disk at either end. Dumbbells can be adjusted by adding or removing weighted disks to increase or decrease the resistance that particular dumbbell offers. Dumbbells typically come in pairs because in an ideal world, you only need one hand to hold each dumbbell. The word itself comes to us via Tudor England. The bell clapper was a device … Continue reading →

C is for Calorie

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What is a calorie? Do you know what a calorie is? It’s a unit of energy. It’s the energy that exists in food and that our bodies in turn utilize. Ultimately, a calorie is determined to be the amount of heat that is required to heat 1 kilogram of water 1 degree Celsius. So if you have 240 calories in something, that’s enough energy to heat 1 kilogram of water to 240 degrees Celsius and that’s pretty hot, right? Calories Are Important Whether you care that there are 710 calories in a double cheeseburger or not, calories are a part … Continue reading →

What Can You Do Right Now? (Strength Training)

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Do you have about 30 minutes? Good. I have something you can do right now to help promote better fitness and strength in your everyday life. No, you don’t need any weights or weight training equipment. Instead, put on some comfortable clothes and a pair of comfortable shoes and let’s get started. Let’s start with a calf stretch. It’s important to warm up your muscles before you dive right in. Extend your right leg and press the toes to a wall or sofa. Don’t press forward, but instead squeeze your right leg and just fully extend the knee. You should … Continue reading →

Do You Want Big Muscles?

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When you think about exercise and fitness, do you think about big muscles? Do you concentrate on a workout that builds muscle and strengthens the body? Do you a chest that would do Atlas proud? If building muscle is your priority, then it’s important for you to understand everything you can about muscle strength, strength building and more. Hypertrophy Bulky muscle is caused by muscle hypertrophy. So what is it, you ask? Hypertrophy is what happens when muscle cells thicken, but don’t get longer. Your muscle cells may divide and create more, this can also create a thick appearance without … Continue reading →

Weight Training: Progression and Overload

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We talked about exercise principles yesterday and the importance of doing it right the first time in order to promote your success. One of the principles we discussed was the concept of overload. I know from at least one reader’s note that I wasn’t exactly clear on what overload is, so today I want to talk about progression and overload. Overload Your body is designed to adapt to stress and to load. For example, when you’re pregnant, you get progressively heavier. You don’t go from being 1 month pregnant to 9 months pregnant overnight. This important because the progressive gain … Continue reading →

Spring Forward to Action 2007: What Are We Doing?

It’s that time, time for us to spring forward to action. Well, actually the spring forward happened earlier this year than it typically does. In fact, I know a lot of people who were thrown by the clocks turning forward on March 11th. It was early enough that it stayed dark here until after 7:30 in the morning and if that doesn’t throw you, I don’t know what will. So here we are, a month later, to kick off our Spring Forward to Action fitness challenge. Last year, our Spring Forward challenge involved a detailed workout plan for every day … Continue reading →

Dear Heather … Fat Burning Workout

Hello, well I’m 16 and going to start running and eating healthy. I weigh 240 and I want to lose 70 pounds or more in 6 months what should I do? And if I walk and run at the same time around a football field for a hour or more how many calories could I lose every week cause I’m want to do this every day until I reach my goal and drink lots of water only water and how many pounds u think I could lose every months? Could you help me Heather? Could you give me tips and … Continue reading →